Love Will Have Its Way
by Koneko-chan9
Summary: The past is gone. Kagome lost everything to make things right, and hasn't stopped crying for over a year. But while familiar faces stalk the crowd, their memories do not. At her limits, Kagome can take no more. Epilogue finally up!
1. LWHIW1

            A/N: Ok, this takes place after the Shikon no Tama has been reformed, & Naraku is dead, k?

Disclaimer: I'm not old enough to legally own anything anyways, & I definitely don't own them illegally. ~.~;;;

            Kagome couldn't sleep. It was just a night when she couldn't get comfortable. If she got into her sleeping bag, she would soon get hot, and remove herself from it, only to be hit by the chill winds that she was unprotected from. They were in a forest, but at the end, for the trees were few and small. 

            Kagome sighed. She wasn't tired anyways… Part of her problem was that her mind was full of things from earlier. Inu-yasha had seemed so distant; it was as if reality was beyond him. They hadn't even been arguing very much today. She had tried to ask him earlier, but he just gave her a weird look for a moment. Of course, that look had quickly been shaken off his face, and the question quickly dismissed with a 'keh.'

            But that look… It was as if he was taking in her soul. It wasn't a piercing gaze, where it seems as thought the gazer is staring directly at your soul, though. It was a dazed look, but he seemed to be measuring her soul, sensing her with some unknown sense.

            Kagome sighed. She was very confused, as well as worried. She looked around at her slumbering companions. Sango was sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of Miroku, who was lecherous even in his sleep…blissfully unaware of the hand on her waist….unaware that it was slowly moving down… Miroku had a smile on his face as though he had seen heaven…Kagome would almost have thought that he was awake, had it not been for the steady breathing they were both emitting. Then she noticed that Sango, too, was smiling. This was Kagome's clue that Sango was most definitely asleep.

            She turned her gaze towards the fire, now reduced to glowing embers. Kirara was curled up there, and Shippo was snoring lightly, using Kirara as a pillow. She had to smile at the sight; the two made quite a pair. They had developed an unlikely friendship, the cat and kitsune. Kirara would protect Shippo, and they would play together for hours. She knew that it helped Shippo, since he was always lonely when Kagome was gone. She had come upon quite a funny sight upon returning once. She had been slightly surprised that Inu-yasha hadn't dropped into the well to help her out, as he sometimes did. She was even more surprised when she got to the mouth of the well and saw why he hadn't: a fully transformed Kirara had him pinned to the ground, with Shippo in fits of laughter, saying barely understandable things that seemed to be along the lines of 'serves you right' and 'teach you to hit me' and 'the dog got caught by the cat!'

            Kagome smiled at the fondly at the memory. She looked up at the tree where Inu-yasha had last been seen, expecting to see him staring back at her, or maybe sleeping peacefully. But he wasn't there….

            Kagome decided to go look for him. What if something was wrong? Was he sick? Starting to worry, Kagome got out of her sleeping bag and quietly left the camp. 

            Kagome wandered around for a while. She was starting to get cold, and was going to go back to camp soon, when she saw a little clearing with the moonlight pouring in. It was gorgeous, with the moonlight making it's presence know on the trees and grass; but all of this beauty was lost to Kagome, who was standing, rooted to the spot, the moonlight reflecting across her horrified features. The moonbeams were shining in her eyes, and in the tears that were brimming in them, as her eyes fell on the source of her pain.

Ok, it was really short, but it's just the opening….& it's a cliffhanger! Mwuahaha! Anywhoo, tell me what you think! Did u like it? Tell me so! Did u hate it? Tell me anyways! Should I bother to continue?

            Thanx for reading! Bai!

                                                ~~Koneko-chan~~


	2. LWHIW2

Disclaimer: I stand by what I said in the first chapter.

A/N: Ok, I just reread this, and I forgot to mention that the forest they were at the edge of was Inu-yasha's Forest, but following the path that they were following, they wouldn't make it to the village before nightfall,  it wouldn't be wise to travel through the forest at night, so they camped. 

Anywhoo, on with the story!

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Chapter 2 

            Inu-yasha stood there, bathed in the moonlight; it gleamed off his silver white hair, and shone upon his red firerat's fur. And there, standing close to him, so close to him… was Kikyo. Her hair was loose, swaying gently in the breeze. They were both unaware of Kagome's presence, too lost in each other's eyes…

            'So that was why he was so out of it earlier… _She _was nearby… of course…'

            Kikyo spoke. "Inu-yasha… you won't come to hell with me, will you?"

            Inu-yasha looked away a little bit. "Not yet. I have to get Kagome back where she belongs…" he said, but his eyes betrayed him with a look of uncertainty.

            Kikyo looked perplexed by this. "The Inu-yasha I knew never cared about anyone else; never had any friends... It was always about you, and then it was about you and me!" she reached up to brush his cheek with  feather light fingers. "Where did you go?" she asked as she rested her hand along the side of his face. She looked deeper in to his eyes.

            "It's not that simple, is it? She's more than a friend now… You can't just throw her through the well, can you?" she asked, looking hurt. Inu-yasha opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and turned his gaze away. Kikyo shook her head in hurt disbelief.

"But…but…Inu-yasha- Do you want me or her?" she said as she took a step back.

            "Kikyo, I… I don't know… I know that our souls were meant to be… but …but that's why I'm confused! I know it was your soul to begin with, but… I avenged you, Kikyo! Why can't you rest in peace, and let Kagome keep her soul?"

            "You do want her! How could you? How dare you! She doesn't belong here! This isn't her world! How are you going to keep her here? I'll be here! I _do _belong here! We can use the Shikon no Tama to make us both human, and live with the love that was meant to be! Send her back to the future, & the soul can exist in both places!"

            "Well, that might work, but… I- I still don't know…"

            "No…" It was a whisper on the wind, that only Inu-yasha's keen ears detected. He turned around and saw Kagome standing there. Kikyo followed his gaze. "No…" It came louder now, with a voice that was broken, soft, barely louder than her whisper had been. Inu-yasha and Kikyo both turned towards Kagome, who shook her head slightly, her tears starting to fall, glistening in the moonlight, rolling down her face to drip to the ground below.

Inu-yasha gasped slightly. "Kagome…?"

            Her tears ran freely down her face now, falling into the grass below. "No!" She was louder now. "You can't…I don't love you because my soul tells me to! I…It's not just the soul…" she trailed off, unable to find words to express her love, or her pain… he loved her for her soul…. Kikyo's soul…

            Inu-yasha took a step towards her, reaching out his hand a little, wanting to ease her pain… the pain that he had caused…

            "Kagome… I … I…."

            Kagome took a step back, as though afraid his hand would tear her heart and soul to piece…into even more pieces… Suddenly, she turned and fled the scene. No one could see it, but even as she ran, she was leaving fragments of her heart there, in the moonlit clearing, where Inu-yasha had broken her heart.

            Inu-yasha turned to Kikyo, his eyes sending her a message: 'Follow if you want…I need to talk to her… and you…' Then he followed Kagome. Kikyo followed, but called to him.

            "Inu-yasha! Wait! Let her go! Then we can live together in piece… I can seal up the well! We could…"

            Inu-yasha stopped running, turned, and came back a little ways. His eyes were full of guilt, yet there was understanding. He knew what he was doing. "I…I couldn't do that…" Kikyo understood now that now. The look in his eyes had told her so. It had told her something else, too: he loved them both; he had chosen her, now, but he couldn't let Kagome go without explaining it to her…he couldn't let her leave with her pain…if he could help it…

            "I understand…"

            Inu-yasha then continued after Kagome. She was headed for the well. He needed to keep her in his time until she understood; if he tried to tell her in her time, he knew that what needed to be said never would be.

            Inu-yasha was surprised that she wasn't at the well; nor had she gone through it. He followed her scent to the Goshinboku tree, where he found her sitting at the great tree's roots. She was beautiful as she sat there, looking at the almost full moon that was right over head, bathing the entire area with a white glow that seemed to reflect off of Kagome more than anything else. Her face was white with moonshine and the full Shikon no Tama hung around her neck, glowing with a faint light of it's own. The whole picture before him was gorgeous. Kagome had a distant look on her face, like to that of someone who has seen great pain and sorrow, and knew that more was coming, yet knew what they had to do.

There were marks across her face from where the tears had streamed, but were now dry, and a small cut on her cheek where she must have hit a branch. Carefully he approached her. She didn't seem to know that he was there, and he didn't want to scare her.

            "Ka…Kagome?" he said in a soft voice.

            "Hai, Inu-yasha?" her tone scarred his heart: it was full of quiet pain, of agony of the soul, and as much bravery through that pain as she could muster. But there was something else… it wasn't quite understanding, but it wasn't angry… 

            "Are you…? I didn't… Kagome, I…" Inu-yasha stumbled through his words

            "I'm ok, Inu-yasha. I understand, now. It was my soul that you loved… protected… cared for…"

            "Kagome, I'm sorry…"

            "It's ok Inu-yasha. You were supposed to be with Kikyo… I don't know what part the jewel was supposed to play, but Naraku stopped it." She brought here gaze away from the moon now, and looked at Inu-yasha as Kikyo came up behind him. The jewel's glow brightened a little as it was mentioned. Kagome looked to Kikyo, then back to Inu-yasha as she reached behind he and undid the necklace that held the Shikon no Tama, and then held the powerful object in the palm of her hand, gazing at it with her eyes slightly out of focus.

            "Naraku came between two souls that have been united since time began…he interfered with the ways of Fate, Destiny, and Love…" Kagome looked back up at Inu-yasha and Kikyo, who was a few feet behind Inu-yasha. "But now… Fate will find itself…Destiny will right itself…And Love will have its way…"

*****************************************

                        Can you believe it? I left you with another cliffhanger! (Or, as Hayley would say, a hang over ^.~) So, whadda ya think? I was so happy to get such good reviews for the first chapter! Not to mention I got my first threats! * gets a huge, starry-eyed smile * I can't believe you guys wanted me to continue! Anyways, pleeeeez review! I wanna know what you think, even if you think it's evil! Tell me sooooooo!!!!!!!

})); ;(({

Hey, does anyone know a good type-face for a cat?  Cuz all I got is kissy fish! And besides, I'm not Fish-chan, I'm Koneko-chan! (koneko= kitten) Help me out, please!


	3. LWHIW3

"Naraku came between two souls that have been united since time began…he interfered with the ways of Fate, Destiny, and Love…" Kagome looked back up at Inu-yasha and Kikyo, who was a few feet behind Inu-yasha. "But now… Fate will find itself…Destiny will right itself…and Love will have its way…"

            With those words, Kagome started to disappear, fading slowly; Inu-yasha could now see the Goshinboku tree behind her. The Shikon no Tama was also fading with her, though the light it emitted was as strong as ever.

            "Inu-yasha," Kagome continued. "We were not meant to be… not here… not now… 

            "Kagome, I… but…"

"Our souls will be together for eternity… Inu-yasha… as they have been in the eternity of the past…" Kagome's hair waved in the small, cold wind that had breezed through. She closed her eyes and bowed her head a little, as she continued to fade, though now a faint, golden light was surrounding her.

"Farewell, Inu-yasha… Until our souls meet again…" She said, as two tears ran down her face, one after the other. And with that, she was gone. She had faded away, right before their eyes, leaving only a single teardrop that had fallen before she was gone.

            Inu-yasha could only stare at the place where Kagome had been standing. He heard Kikyo panting a little bit behind him, probably from the shock of what had happened. He heard her take a few steps forward and put a hand on his shoulder. Still in shock, he reached up and put his hand on hers; what he felt made him spin around in shock.

'Her hand was… warm?'

He saw Kikyo, standing in a light that was similar to that of Kagome's. He stared at her, as she looked back with love in her eyes.

"Ki…Kikyo? What…?

"You chose right, Inu-yasha. Fate is being corrected, and our destinies repaired. I was never supposed to come back. In this world, our love just didn't work. Naraku should not have been… but you should never have been human. I see that now… Now I must go… I am at peace now… I no longer desire to stay on this earth… it isn't my place…. My time here ended fifty years ago…"

            "But Kikyo, wait! Where are you going?"

            "Goodbye, Inu-yasha. We will meet again."

            "But Kikyo- No! Who will I…?"

            And with that, Kikyo faded as well, taking her light and warmth with her, and leaving the hanyou staring at the spot where she had been standing. He had no comfort now, except the smell of Kagome's tear, which was sinking deep into the ground, where not even his nose would be able to detect it. He was completely alone. 

As the wind carried away their scents, Inu-yasha fell to his knees, a blank look upon his face. He felt so… empty. There was nothing left for him anymore…

A lonely hanyou looked up at the sky. All the stars twinkled brightly, and seemed quite unaware of his misery. Only the moon seemed lonely, with no one near it. Just like him. He knew what he had to do.

}}};***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***;{{{

In the present….

            Kagome wept openly now. She had faded for a few seconds, or so she thought, out of time and existence, before suddenly reappearing on her bed, just as her other tear fell, making a small dark dot on her blanket. She had been in shock for a while. The Shikon Jewel had spoken through her for a minute… but she had let it… because it was right…

            But now her heart was broken. Many more spots had joined that first one on her blanket, and the tears continued to fall. The man she loved was in the past, and would remain there. She had no doubt that the well would no longer work. She had nothing to fix back there. Inu-yasha and Kikyo would be together, and the jewel had remained with her. She was still its protectress, though the job wouldn't be too hard in the present; there weren't many yokai here.

            "Kagome, are you in there?" called her mom, who had apparently heard her moving around, but couldn't here her crying.

            "Ya, Mom…"

            "Some friends are here to see you! They brought some homework for you to work on."

            'Well, I guess I need it… It's time to start living a normal life in the present…'

            "Go ahead and send them in, Mom."

            'There is no life in the past anymore… no Sango…Miroku… I hope Shippo's alright... that Inu-yasha doesn't pick on him too much.' Tears were welling in her eyes now. 'Inuyasha… I miss you…' Now they poured from her eyes in small, hot streams down her face.

            Suddenly her friends burst into the room. "Kagome! Where have you been? You've been out for sooooo long!!!!" 

            "Oh, leave her alone! You know how sick she's been!" They continued to babble, and Kagome was soon lost in her own thoughts of the past again, but was jerked back into reality when her homework (in a very large package, because she hadn't returned for several weeks). 

            Suddenly, she noticed that her friends were quiet, and looked up at them.

            "Kagome, what's wrong?"

            Kagome was puzzled at first, until a teardrop hit her hand, and another splashed on her homework; she was crying.

            "Nothing, nothing…it's nothing…"

            Her friends looked at her with concern, but decided to leave her alone. They knew Kagome: she would tell them when she was ready. They might seem ignorant, but really, they were just some girls who loved having fun. They knew when something was wrong.

            But days turned to weeks, and Kagome said nothing. She seemed to be hiding inside herself, holding something in, something huge. She was always wearing this necklace that they hadn't noticed before, with a gorgeous pink bead hanging on it. Well, usually it was pink; it would change colors sometimes. No one knew quite what to make of it, but Kagome never let anyone touch it, much less borrow it.

            Kagome's grades went up, and she was doing well in school, but her teachers noted her detachment. It seemed as though she was in another world. When it failed to stop, they began to worry, and called her mom. Her mother said it was the result of so many illnesses. The teachers could tell this wasn't the whole truth, but Mrs. Higurashi said it with a firmness that left no room for questions.

            So Kagome moved on. But in her Junior year, she got quite a surprise…

}}};;}}{

Can you believe it? Another cliffhanger! * smiles evilly * Whatever it takes to keep people reading this! Anywhoo, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease review! That's what prompts me to get rid of the cliffhangers! I want at least 5 new reviews before I continue! * gets a sad puppy dog look * please? I don care what u tell me! U can threaten me, u can be mean, u can be nice, whatever suits u! Just tell me what u think!!!!!

                 ~~Koneko-chan~~

ps. No one has a type face anything cat-like? At all?


	4. LWHIW4

Greetings everybody! Here's the next chapter! All of your reviews telling me to continue were wonderful!!! Thank you!!!!!!

O, btw, my other fics are gonna be on hold, cuz I wanna get this one done. Then it will be Typos, then Speak My Soul (aka My Soul's Desire @ mediaminer)

Oh, a quick explanation: I don't know exactly how the school system works in Japan, so when I say Junior year, that is going to be 11th grade, the year before she graduates, etc., k? Everybody got it? Yes, a lot of time has passed, I know. Oh well. I'm also taking into account that she was about halfway through 9th grade when this story began, ok minna? 

Also, here's something that I guess I didn't make clear enough: THIS IS NOT A KIK/INU FIC. Kikyo is gone, in a similar fashion to Kagome's disappearance. She's not coming back! Inu chose her cuz he knew he couldn't make Kagome stay in the past, it wouldn't work, etc., but he loved them both. No, I will never, never, never write a fic where Inu _actually_ chooses Kikyo, and I don't like the way I wrote this, just cuz he did. But for the sake of the fic, it had to happen!!

A/N: (almost to the story…) Ok, y'know what? I would like to say that I am not stealing this from a Nickelodian (sp?) show. I walked downstairs one night, & my bro had the tv on. It was 'As Told by Ginger' or whatever, and they used a similar idea to the one I'll use. I just wanted to say that this was my own original idea! (Isn't that sad that this is all that I could come up with?)

Disclaimer: If I owned them, would I a) bother with a disclaimer? b) bother with a fanfiction? c) let anyone else use them?

Whew! Now, on with the fic!

Love Will Have Its Way 

**Chapter 4**

****

So Kagome moved on. But in her Junior year, she got quite a surprise… 

BRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the students in Kagome's class practically leapt out of their seats. Monday was finally over! The teacher could barely make herself heard over all the commotion in the room.

"Higurashi! Higurashi, may I speak to you for a minute please!"

Kagome looked at the teacher in near panic as students began leaving the room. A talk with the teacher meant her grades were slipping. That couldn't be! She'd focused her life around school, making her work the best in the school! She constantly amazed all her teachers. Her mind was always focused on school, or chores, or – anything! Anything to keep her mind off of— 'No! I won't even finish that thought!' She quickly turned back to her teacher, collected and … almost calm.

"There must be some mistake; I don't know how my grade could have dropped! I mean, I've been working hard, and you had my essay on the overhead as an example today, and…" Her teacher raised her hand to shush the babbling Kagome.

"Higurashi, it's not your grades I'm worried about; well, at least, not directly. I'm very concerned about you! I know that you were very sick last year, and that this has been hard on you. What worries me is that, you don't seem to have any friends! You never talk with anyone when you come into class, and when I see you in the hall, you're always alone; everyday at lunch you sit by yourself, not even in sight of your other classmates! Don't give me that look, I'm not stalking you; that window that you sit near is the window of the teachers lounge. They tinted it because the students kept making faces at their hated teachers. If they don't know who's in there, they won't do it. Why they had to tint the ones at the back of the room is beyond me, but… Gomen, I'm digressing."

"So I don't hang out with people; there are other loners out there! That doesn't mean I'm in trouble…"

"But you always scratch in that notebook of yours. You should really keep those writings separate from your school work, because the other day, you handed me something that wasn't your 'Favorite Food Poem.'" 

The color drained from Kagome's face. What had she given the teacher? She was glad to know that she always faced away from the window, so they couldn't see her crying. But those were her private things! She only unlocked her soul when she was alone at lunchtime, and those poems were her only friends. When she had gotten quiet in 9th grade, after being 'ill' for so long, and focused so much on schoolwork, all her friends drifted away. Hojo, too, had left her. Well, she left him. She told him that she couldn't sustain a relationship at the time; dim as he seemed (ok, was), he finally did seem to get the message that she didn't want to date him. He was now going out with one of her old friends, and they were very happy.

"Here's the poem you gave me. Well, poems. This is why I'm concerned!"

She handed Kagome a paper that had been quickly torn out of a notebook. Kagome remembered this; there had been a line in the bathroom right before she had this class, and she had almost been late. She thought her food poem was on top, and quickly handed that in. Unfortunately, the haikus that she had worked on at lunch that day had been on top:

(A/N: Forgive me minna-san! I'm not a poet, so I chose haiku, and I even suck at that! Pretend it's better, ok? O, btw, a description {for those who don't know} of how haiku works is at the bottom of the story!)

My tears fly free

In an eternal river

Why did you choose her?

Those bright golden eyes

A mouth with fanged teeth

Are you with her now?

A better archer,

A better miko and love

She is much better

Why am I trapped?

Why can not I flee my pain?

Why did you hurt me?

The pieces shatter

They are lost upon the wind

My heart breaks forever

How do I stop pain?

I know the pain will vanish

When I vanish too

"Higurashi, all your teachers know you're hiding something. I think that your good grades are the proof! I never see you with anybody! You don't seem to have any friends, or a boyfriend. You're always alone, and yet your schoolwork is beautiful. Are you afraid of people? Don't feel to alone, you just need to open up a little! Please, don't do anything rash! What is this pain you feel? Well, I guess it's not my place to pry, but I would like you to see a counselor." The teacher bent down to her desk to write Kagome a note to remind her to see the counselor. "Tomorrow at lunch, ok? Higurashi…?"

But Kagome, even though she didn't realize it, was already gone; she had left after reading the poems. She never read these poems except when she was alone, because they had this kind of effect.

"I do have friends," Kagome replied in a voice that seemed as though it was commanded from afar. Her eyes had glazed over, and it was as though she was in another world, far away. "My friends are 500 years ago. My friends are in the past, and they will never return. My heart is 500 years ago, lost with him, lost with them; they won't come back. But they're there." At this point Kagome turned to look at her teacher, with her eyes reflecting the light, which shimmered off of now dark grey that seemed to capture them when she was sad or upset, but her face showed no emotion. She was entering her own reality, behind the mask that she wore. Tears filled her blank eyes, and then ran races down her face, across her cheeks, off her chin, to fall with a barely audible _plop! _on the floor.

"Higurashi? Higurashi! Are you ok?" Her teacher was starting to panic. What was wrong with this girl! Sure, she hadn't been too nice about the 'you don't have friends' thing, but she hadn't expected a reaction like this! She had expected to find out what was wrong, not to hear random babblings! This girl was crazy!

Suddenly, Kagome was back in her mask. "I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me!"

"…that's ok…Just be at the counselor's office tomorrow, ok?"

Kagome walked out of the room, devastated. They thought she was crazy! Well, considering what she had just said, that was fair enough. She mentally hit herself on the head. "Baka! Now they're gonna try and lock you up!" Some girls in the hall started edging away from Kagome, who was mumbling to herself, yet plenty loud enough for them to hear. "I'm not crazy!" she declared to her locker, which she had just reached, and was removing books from for her homework that night. 'But how do I prove it?' "Kami knows I can't lie… How am I supposed to cover this up? They're sure to ask what's making me depressed. What should I say? 'Oh, it's nothing really, the man I loved chose another over me," she paused, as she realized what she was saying, "and now…even if he did want to change his mind, he's 500 years… gone and…I'll n- never…see him…again…" And with that, she fell to her knees, tears claiming her eyes. The girls, who had been watching her suspiciously, became rather afraid and quickly fled the hall, leaving the weeping Kagome all alone. Her teacher was right; she had no friends. She had no one to comfort her shaking form. That's what Sango would have done; no one to try and cheer her up, like Shippo would have done; no one offering wise words, like Miroku; no one silently watching, with pain in his eyes if you looked up quick enough, protecting from anything that might hurt her in any way, and …

'No!' She yelled at herself, slamming her hand against the lower locker. 'I won't think of those things! They're in the past, and it's high time I got over them!' She tried to stop her tears and sit up straight, and to put those things behind her. But she knew that it was no use. She dropped her posture, curling over her knees, a small heap on the floor. Her body shook with sobs, and tears were running freely down her face. She leaned forward, resting her head on the locker, and simply cried.

(A/N: I was gonna leave it here, but I decided that wasn't enough story, especially since someone (well, many someones…) counseled me to make longer chapters, so here ya go, minna-san!)

At least, she would have, had her teacher not chosen that moment to go make some copies. Of course, Kagome's locker was right next to the room with the copying machine.

"Higurashi? Higurashi, what's wrong?! I didn't mean to upset you! I'm just worried about you! There's nothing to be upset about!" Her teacher quickly knelt beside her, touching her shoulder lightly, worry etched on her face. 

"It's not you, ma'am. I, uh…" Kagome thought frantically to herself, searching for any reason that her teacher might buy. "I, ummm… hit my head! Yeah, on my locker, and it really hurt! I'm ok, though…"

"Higurashi, you're a terrible liar. Did someone hurt you? Is that what's wrong? Has someone been harming you? You can get help, Kagome!"

And with that well intended statement, Kagome snapped from depression to anger. She stood up, and yelled down at her still crouching teacher. "And just how do you plan to help me?!?" Kagome yelled at her teacher, forgetting what the consequences could be. She didn't care. She didn't care at all; not anymore. "How dare you! How dare you try and offer me help! You have no idea what hells I've seen! There is no help in all the world for me! There's no help in the entire universe! Don't you get it? All my friends, my love, my happiness, everything I worked for… It's all lost to the past! It's not coming back!"

With that, she slammed her locker door shut, and ran as fast as she could away from her teacher and away from her school, leaving all her books in her locker, not to mention a very shocked teacher staring after her. Her teacher slowly rose, worrying very much about Kagome, and quickly went to call her mother, rather afraid that Kagome might try suicide.

Kagome continued racing home, where she could cry unhindered, as long as she wanted. It would take her awhile just to get out of school, and then all the way home, so she ran faster. Her mother understood what had happened, and knew that there wasn't much she could do except let Kagome cry. She was starting to worry, though; she had been hoping that Kagome wasn't as in love as she knew she really was. She had hoped with all her might that it might have been a big crush, that Kagome would get over soon. Now, nearing a year later, it showed no sign of letting up.

But Kagome knew that this was how her mother felt. As Kagome continued to run, she passed many of her classmates, but not one of them called out to her to see if she was ok. They all pulled away from the sobbing girl. She had almost made it out of school when she tripped over something in the very front of the school, and let out a small cry as she landed on the pavement, scraping up her hands and bloodying her knees. She started to get, half hoping that someone might help her. She rose to her hands and knees, but no one came to assist her. There were people all around, but they all just stared at her; they all knew that she was a strange one, having transformed into a quiet weirdo after being such a sweet, popular girl. Kagome couldn't quite find the strength to get up and continue home just yet, drained from her sobbing, and just remained there on the ground with everyone staring at her. There was complete and utter silence, except for Kagome's choking sobs. Then the whispering began:

"It's Higurashi! I wonder what happened…"

"Looks like that weirdo finally cracked!"

"What a loser! I hope she isn't looking for sympathy; it's not like she has any friends!"

"Ya, I know! She could have been the most popular girl in school! I mean, she almost was one time! Even I envied her once…"

Kagome could hear everything they were saying, whether they thought she could or not. Now she knew she was truly alone. No one even cared to help her up off the ground! This thought sent Kagome sobbing again, and she managed to rise, ready to run the rest of the way home.

She ran faster than before, in a way that she hadn't run since she had been in Sengoku Jidai. Tears blurred her eyes, but she knew the way home. Her hands stung where she had landed on them, and her knees were oozing blood down her legs. But she didn't care. Her own words came back to her as she ran…

'There is no help in all the world for me! There's no help in the entire universe! Don't you get it? All my friends, my love, my happiness, everything I worked for… It's all lost to the past! It's not coming back!'

Over and over it played in her mind. There was no escape for her; her past, her heart, and her soul were all locked away in the past, leaving her with only remnants of what she used to have. That statement seemed to sum up everything she had in her!

If only she knew how wrong her statement was…

YAY!!!!!!!!!! Once again, thank you all for your wonderful reviews!!! I felt so inspired! I know it's still not a very long chapter, but I have a ton of hw, and I wasn't even supposed to be writing this. So ya, hope you enjoyed! If you did, let me know! If you didn't, I don't care! Let me know anyways! I'll accept flames! Though I would prefer if they would tell me how to improve if ur gonna send 'em, k? 

O, & I guess she does still have the Shikon no tama, but when I say everything she worked for, I mean like when she set things right with people, saved peoples' lives, including her friends', etc.

BAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haiku: A form of poetry in which the first and 3rd/last line have 5 syllables (& s at the end of a word counts as a syllable), and the middle line has 7 syllables.

Next time: a visit to the counselor, a mini play in drama, and rumours run wild!


	5. LWHIW5

Greetings, minna!

I'm actually responding to reviews! Can you believe it? O, and a lot of people who reviewed most recently said I was being evil, cuz I had so many reviews already. Here's the deal: I didn't before I posted my note. So ya, I'm not entirely selfish! I can't believe how many I have now!!! Well, not many at mediaminer, but all u peeps at ff.net are sooooo wonderful!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silver Dragon: Well, ya she's depressed. Fate had written that those two would be soul mates, but they were in the wrong time. Hence, she lost her soul mate at age 16 (I decided).

Beady: Dude, ur a Californian, aren't u? Californians rock!!!! (if u r not, then in using that term (dude), u r mocking me, and I will be upset. We lack a culture or accent of our own out here, and that's all we have!) Anywhoo, yes, I do use lots of cliffhangers. But on my other story, when I didn't use one (entirely) at the end of a story, 3 peeps reviewed and told me it was a nice story, but the ending sucked & I should write a sequel. -.-;;; (that goes for all of u who complained about cliffhangers!)

Sandra: Bookworms rule!!!! I am a total bookworm!!! I'm honored to be #3! Thank you! *eyes fill with tears* And the Japanese word for fox is kitsune. ^.^

Well, those are all the ones that asked me ?s, so there u go!

Oh, and lots of peeps told me that I should write, even if no one likes it, if I really love writing. I love writing, but, well.. I'm a people person. I love writing things that people like. As a matter of fact, I don't care if you don't like it, as long as you tell me so, and how I can make it better! That's where the joy of it lies for me! But now, everybody says they like it, so I'm happy!

A lot of peeps wanted to kill me for putting Inu with Kik still…I'm sorry, minna! I hated doing it!!!! But the fic's not over yet….

Love Will Have Its Way Chapter 5 

'There is no help in all the world for me! There's no help in the entire universe! Don't you get it? All my friends, my love, my happiness, everything I worked for… It's all lost to the past! It's not coming back!'

_Over and over it played in her mind. There was no escape for her; her past, her heart, and her soul were all locked away in the past, leaving her with only remnants of what she used to have. That statement seemed to sum up everything she had in her!_

_If only she knew how wrong her statement was…_

            She had finally made it home. Her mother, was on the phone, but Kagome didn't even notice. She just went running up to her room, pounding up the stairs and slamming the door. She ran at her bed, burying her face in her pillow. The blood spilling off her knees was starting to stain her white bedspread, and her hands were burning where she had scraped them. Of course, all of this was nothing compared to the horrible pain in her heart. He was never coming back.

            She heard her mom drop the phone and come running up the stairs as fast as she could. She came bursting through the door as though she had expected it to be locked, and seeing the blood on the bed spread and her daughter shaking rather violently, began to panic. Had she come too late? She ran to Kagome, and turned her forcefully over.

            "Kagome, please, no! Don't… Oh my gosh, your ok!" Suddenly, an already traumatized Kagome found herself being embraced by her mother's vise-like arms. "Your teacher called, and she said she was so worried… She was afraid you were going to do something drastic! I was afraid! Please, Kagome, never ki- it's ok Kagome, everything will work out!" Kagome's mother continued to fret over her, more gently now. Kagome was too tired from crying, running, and remembering to even say anything. She listened to her mother for awhile, but soon, everything started to way down on her. She could feel a darkness coming, and slowly, she let it come. She wouldn't feel any of this pain there… After another moment of her mother's relieved babble, Kagome passed out into her arms.

            Yet even in the darkness, she couldn't escape:

_He was there. Holding Kikyo. Telling her how much he loved her. Apologizing for toying with her heart by being with Kagome for so long._

_            "It's ok, Inu-yasha. You couldn't help it. She's gone forever now, so it doesn't matter! We can be together forever! Of course the little bitch had to take the Shikon no tama with her, so you can't become human with me…"_

_            "But that's ok! I can defend you better this way! Not that you really need it though. You know how to use your powers. Not like Kagome. She was such an idiot!"_

_            "But she's gone now! It doesn't matter!"_

_            "It never really mattered!"_

_            Kagome tried to protest. Inu-yasha had told her that she meant so much to him, and had tried to make her stay away from the final battle with Naraku! He had thanked her afterwards, while she was tending his wounds, for everything that she had given him._

_            But her voice fell on deaf ears. It was like when Kikyo tried to take Inu-yasha with her to hell while Kagome was tied to a tree. No one could hear her! Not even Kikyo…_

_            Kagome looked down at the ropes that bound her now. They were actually chains, binding her arms, legs, and throat?_

_            "Why are you binding me? He's lying! He's lying!!!"_

_            The chains glowed, and a voice arose. "You created us. You know that all of this is true! Why should we let you stop it?"_

_            A look of distress crossed Kagome's features, and she looked back at Kikyo and Inu-yasha…_

_            …just as Inu-yasha claimed Kikyo's mouth with his own. It wasn't just a little kiss, either. It was deep, passionate, and full of love. It was the kind of kiss that she had always wanted. Kagome struggled, trying to get away from the chains, trying to stop this! It had to stop!_

_            "Inu-yasha! Inu-yasha, how can you do this to me? Inu-yasha! No! Please, no!"_

            Mrs. Higurashi sat by her daughter, whom she had laid out on her bed. Her knees were bandaged and no longer bleeding, but by the expressions claiming her face, Mrs. Higurashi could tell that her heart was another matter.

            Suddenly, tears started leaking from her daughter's eyes, and she started mumbling. The words broke Mrs. Higurashi's heart.

            "…Inu-yasha…how…No! Please, no!!!!"        Kagome was nearly screaming now, and Mrs. Higurashi started stroking her face, trying to calm her down. Kagome seemed to take comfort in her touch, and relaxed as her dream faded.

            Sota, having heard his sister screaming, opened the door a crack.

            "Mama?"

            Mrs. Higurashi turned towards him, and he opened the door a little more.

            "Is Kagome ever gonna get better?"

            Mrs. Higurashi thought for a moment. She wanted to tell him that yes, of course she would! But she couldn't lie to her own son.

            "I think so…" But she didn't sound like she did. Even Sota could tell. His face fell, and he looked like he might cry.

            "Tell ya what: why don't you go downstairs and order us something to eat? I don't feel like cooking tonight, and Ji-chan is visiting a friend. You can get whatever you want!" The little boy's eyes lit up a little bit, but that trick didn't work very well anymore. Sota was growing up too, and he could tell what she was trying to do.

            "Ok."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            When Kagome came to, it was getting dark. She heard someone close the door to her room as the front door opened. She guessed that the doorbell had woken her up, and that her mother was just leaving her room to go see who it was, even though Sota had answered it already.

            Kagome sat up and looked at her knees, now modeling some stylish bandages. But Kagome hardly noticed them. She hardly noticed anything, for that matter. She just felt completely empty, devoid of any emotions at all. They were all gone, spent in the tears around her pillow.

            Kagome, smelling the pizza that her brother had ordered, realized that she was hungry and went downstairs to get some. She didn't even speak to her family when she got there, but just grabbed a piece and left. As she was going up the stairs, though, her mother, having followed her, caught her arm.

            "Kagome, are you ok? I mean, with what's going on right now?"

            "Hai… I'm ok…" 'Well, that's a flat out lie,' Kagome thought to herself. "Oh, I have a meeting with the counselor tomorrow. The note says that you're supposed to come to, so…"

            "I know. Your teacher told me what happened."

            "Ok then…" Kagome was still to devoid of emotion to be embarrassed, or feel stupid. At this point, that was probably all for the best.

            "Kagome?"

            "Hai?"

            "Do you have a plan for the meeting?"

            'You mean an excuse…' "Hai, I think so…" Kagome responded, while actually thinking about what to say. Not that the counselor would believe her.

            Kagome turned around and continued back up to her room, still contemplating various ideas. She went inside her room, shutting the door behind her with a click. She looked at her bed, still with splotches of blood and wet patches from her tears. She looked over at her desk, where very accurate sketches of Inu-yasha lay, along with some of her best poetry. She saw the tree outside her window, where she could still picture Inu-yasha sitting and staring at her. She saw the piles of diaries she had filled over the past few years, which had started with one that she had started in Sengoku Jidai. It was all of these things that bound her to her grief.

            It was then that she decided what she would do about her counselor visit tomorrow. She wouldn't even try to lie; she would tell the truth. They would definitely put her away for the story she would tell, but that was ok. In an asylum, she would be around people who didn't care. They could give her help there, and maybe she could get over this and get on with her life. Maybe they could make her believe that it was a lie, that she was crazy, that her heart wasn't broken…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Higurashi, right?"

            "Yes, sir."

            "Please, call me Takuya! And may I call you Kagome?" Having many years of experience, Takuya Saito knew that, in order to help the student, you needed them to feel comfortable around you.

            "You may, Takuya-san." Takuya flinched slightly at the formal words, but more at the dead tone of her voice. This girl was really having problems.

            "Ok, Kagome, how about you and I step into my office and talk for awhile. Mrs. Higurashi, I'll speak to you after we've talked for awhile, and we'll see if it will be the two of us, or all three of us, ok?" said Takuya with a friendly smile; he really was good at his job. Which wasn't actually being a counselor in the same way that the other counselors were. He was there to help students with problems in their lives, the idea being that, if the problems in their lives weren't there, their school work would be better.

            Kagome's mother nodded, but cast one last glance at Kagome. _Are you sure you want to do this? _Kagome saw and comprehended the look, and gave a small nod. Takuya took note of this.

            As Kagome stepped into his office and took a seat, she took a deep breath, and prepared herself for what was to come. She was finally going to tell someone about all her pain. So what if they were gonna lock her up for it? Then she would get help…

            "Ok, Kagome!" Takuya snapped her attention back to him. He looked down at a paper in front of him. "Your teacher says that you had a breakdown yesterday, and that you said some strange things, a-"

            "Are they written there?" Rather surprised at her interruption, it took Takuya a second to answer.

            "Yes, more or less, they are…"

            "They're all true."

            "Well, someone doesn't want to waste time today!" Then he looked down at what she said. "I think there may be a typo on here. It says that you have friends 500 years ago. But that doesn't make sense, so it was probably supposed to be five-"

            "No. She's right."

            "Then you were speaking figuratively?"

            "No."

            "Then you mean you've never had friends?"

            "I meant what I said. I'm not going to play games with you, either. I-"

            "Ah, but Miss Higurashi, I believe that you already are. You were about to claim that you were the Kagome Higurashi of legend, weren't you?" Kagome's eyes went wide. "Yes, I know that tale. I just finished reading it the other night, because they asked me to see if they should teach it in drama classes. As a matter of fact, they're going to be doing mini-plays of it! Such a gorgeous story. You already had drama today, and that's where you got the idea, isn't it? I want the truth, Kagome."

            Kagome looked him in the eyes with a gaze that bored into him, with such a strength behind it that he didn't understand, or really heed. It was actually her spirit power, enforced by her want to forget.

            "And what if that is the truth?"

            "Kagome, I-"

            "I haven't had drama yet, Tokuya-san. You can even check my schedule."

            "Well, you probably heard from your friends."

            "I don't have friends here."

            "You probably heard someone talking about it!"

            "No one talks to me. As a matter of fact, everyone stares at me, and it gets really quiet wherever I go."

            '_Ouch'._ Takuya winced a little at her tone, not to mention the events.

            Kagome continued. "I am the Kagome Higurashi of legend, and I can prove it."

            'Now there's a lead. I can prove her false, and then we can find out what her real problem is.' And with that, he pulled his book of ancient Japanese translations, all copied directly from their first written source. He would be the ultimate expert.

            Well, minna, I hope your happy! It's not a total cliffhanger!!! And it was long!!!

            Well, more soon, I hope!!!

            Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! 

                                    ~~Koneko-chan~~


	6. LWHIW6

Hi, minna!!!! I'm soooooo sorry about the long wait!!! I didn't mean to, I swear! Life's really busy for me, and I only write and update when I have spare time…. Yes, the past month has been VERY busy…

Beady – No, ur not really a pain. As a matter of fact, I'm very glad that you write me! It makes me feel guilty, and then I write some more. O, btw *hands over two small boxes* those are the remains of your mongoose and squirrel. Sorry, I wasn't home to save them from my computer guardian. Koyo (computer guardian) – They attacked!!! That's why I'm here! *flexes claws* Koneko – right then… 

Once again, I'm very sorry. Soon I'll have a much easier time updating, tho!!!

On with the fic…

Love Will Have Its Way 

**Chapter 6**

_Kagome continued. "I am the Kagome Higurashi of legend, and I can prove it."_

_            'Now there's a lead. I can prove her false, and then we can find out what her real problem is. But why would she want to pretend to be the Kagome of legend? It's such a tragic story… Probably just because of her name…' And with that, he pulled his book of ancient Japanese legends, all copied directly from their first written source. He would be the ultimate expert._

            And so the quizzing began…

            "How old was Kagome?"

            "Fifteen at the beginning of the story."

            "And Miroku?"

            "He had just turned nineteen, last time I saw him."

            "Sango?"

            "Seventeen."

            "Sorry, Kagome, but I know you made that one up; it never says!"

            "It wouldn't, either. I was the only one she ever told. In her time, she was the right age for marrying, but no one, not even Miroku, had approached her. She was afraid she would be alone for the rest of her life. She didn't like the idea of being an exterminator for that long, never settling down."

            "It never says that either…"

            "None of our conversations at the hot springs should be in there," Kagome said pointedly.

            Takuya looked closely at Kagome; she was dead serious. 'Oh my gosh… she's crazy! She truly thinks that she's Kagome! This isn't good…"

            He didn't let his surprise show, though; he didn't want to worry her. You never wanted to worry people in this condition.

            They continued quizzing, Kagome giving all the right answers to every question he asked as he got further into the story. Finally, he found some that she didn't know…

            "What happened to Shippo in the end?"

            "WHAT!?! Did something happen to him??? Was he ok? Was he unhurt?? Oh my gosh, I should have brought him with me… Well? What happened? TELL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!"

            Takuya, rather frightened by her sudden outburst, answered as fast as he could. This was getting scary!!! She really knew the story, and her part in it, very well…

            "Don't worry, don't worry! He grew up splendidly and found a mate, who he was living happily with!"

            Kagome became instantly relieved, and almost smiled at the thought of Shippo being that happy…

            Takuya, however, was running out of questions. He decided to finally start setting some actual traps for her, just to prove her wrong; then, maybe he could convince her that it wasn't true – or get her in trouble for wasting his time.

            "Ok, here's an easy one: who wrote the story?"

            "I don't know! No one was writing it while I was there… Well, it must have been someone closely related, because otherwise they couldn't know all the details. They also would need to know how to write – that rules out Sango, Shippo, and I-" Takuya watched closely as she swallowed and stammered out the name. "Inu-yasha. They would have had to have known Shippo when he was older, so that rules out Kaede… it was probably Miroku, because he always did love legends. Unless he taught Sango to write…"

            She was good. She had gotten everything right, just as well as the real Kagome would have. Could this be… the truth? No way, of course not… But she even knew the color of Miroku's rosary! (white, with just a hint of blue*) Still, he didn't let any of these thoughts show in his face. He closed the book and looked intently at her face instead. She didn't flinch, and the dead look remained in her eyes. (* going by the picture on the front of book 10. I know, the blue is there to be shading, but it just makes the story sound better, ne?)

            "One last question, Kagome, and then I'll speak with your mother for a while. Mind, this is out of my own curiosity. What happened the last night that Kagome was seen?"

            Kagome's face turned into a mask of shock and terror.

            "It… it doesn- It doesn't say?"

            "No. Miroku, who 'wrote it'**, by the way, just speculated a little bit. It just says that after that night, Inu-yasha walked around, nearly in a trance, and rarely spoke to anyone. Then he just left one day, and they never saw him again…" (**Takuya really doesn't believe the Miroku from the story wrote it. He thinks that it was a tale written for the children of the village, and whoever wrote it signed it that way to make it feel more real to them. However, he's wrong.)

            "What about Ki…" Kagome closed her eyes and tried to say it. "What about Kik…"

            "Kikyo?"

            Kagome flinched at the name.

            "…yes…" It was barely a whisper.

            "No one knows what happened to her either. They think-"

            Takuya was cut off by Kagome, who had finally decided to give her answer. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her words just above a whisper, as though she was remembering something she had tried hard to forget. She was in real pain. This girl needed serious help.

            "That night, I couldn't sleep. I saw he wasn't there, and I…" Suddenly she stopped speaking in full sentences. It was as if she was watching it in her head and telling him what she saw. "I went looking for him… he was with her… didn't see me… chose her… was just going to take me home… No… you can't… they heard… I ran… he followed… then Ki-kikyo…" Kagome's voice broke with a sob. "... jewel used me… fixed everything… he chose right… I faded… was home… he… he just watched me cry…watched me fade… he never said goodbye…"

            With that, Kagome finally broke, and burst into choking sobs. She wasn't in her right mind anymore; all she could see was flashes from that night… Inu-yasha holding Kikyo… Inu-yasha choosing her… but her mind always came back to the face he wore when she finally faded. It was a face of shock, fear, and… pain?

            Takuya watched her, shocked, as tears started pouring from her eyes. This was no act; he was sure of this now. 

            "Kagome…?"

            She couldn't control her weeping anymore. Takuya decided that he would just let her cry for a while, and talk to her mother outside his office.

            "Mrs. Higurashi? May I have a word with you?"

            Mrs. Higurashi looked up at the worried man in front of her.

            "Yes?"

            "I'm afraid Kagome needs help; serious help. She honestly believes that she's the Kagome from the legend of Inu-yasha! I'm afraid she may need to be put in an asylum. She'll be able to get the necessary help there!"

            "I think that she really wants help… that's why she came today… But isn't there another way? Can't she just see a counselor?"

            "Mrs. Higurashi, she doesn't know who she is!"

            "She's not hurting anyone! And her name is the same… Can't she just see a regular counselor?"

            "Well… I'll send you some good psychiatrists… but if anything harmful happens, to her or anyone else, resulting from this problem, then she will have to be put away."

            "…I understand."

            Of course, Kagome had heard every word; the doors weren't sound proof. She wasn't the only one who'd heard, either… Little did anyone know, but rumors were about to fly.

            Well, there you go minna! It's not very good, but trust me, it could be worse. Anywhoo, I have to attend to the mountain of HW that I have, so I'll try to update soon!

            PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	7. LWHIW7

Hi, minna-san!!! Sorry for the long break (again), but I went to camp and expected to have a week where I could update all my stories. Well, I was confused, and I didn't have that week, and instead went away for two weeks. Anywhoo…

I know this is another short chapter, but Beady's going away, so I'm trying to get more up for Beady's sake. O, btw, I dedicate this chapter to Beady, my most annoy— I mean, loyal reviewer. ^.~

Disclaimer: Yes! I own them! Oh shoot, the cows really do have guns! (see www.cowswithguns.com and listen to the song)

Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! I love you all!!! Keep reviewing!!!!

Love Will Have Its Way Chapter 7 

"Well… I'll send you some good psychiatrists… but if anything harmful happens, to her or anyone else, resulting from this problem, then she will have to be put away."

            "…I understand."

            Of course, Kagome had heard every word; the doors weren't sound proof. She wasn't the only one who'd heard, either… Little did anyone know, but rumors were about to fly.

            Mika, who had been taking a note to the office, had heard the voices through the window that Takuya always had open (there was a wind block, so the curtains rarely moved – he didn't know it was open most of the time). Mika had heard Kagome's tale, and with wide eyes, ran back to her class, completely forgetting her errand, so she could pass a note to her friends relating what she had just heard. No wonder that Higurashi girl was so weird – she actually was a mental case! 

            Meanwhile, Kagome went to the bathroom to get cleaned up and her mother left to go call some of the psychiatrists that had been recommended. Takuya, now worn out and worried from the meeting, went into the office to get a cup of coffee. On the way back to his office, he noticed the assistant principal talking to a large group of students he had never seen before. There looked to be about 20 of them, and they were running out of space! Takuya walked up to the principal to ask her (yes, her! Hah! So there!) what was going on.

            "Don't you remember? The students transferring from the overcrowded school are starting here today. We were looking for you! You were supposed to lead them around today!"

            Realization hit Takuya like a brick on the head.

            "Oh my goodness! I am so sorry, ma'am! I had a particularly – er – difficult student who took a lot longer than I expected. In my worry, it completely slipped my mind!"

            "It's ok, Takuya, we got by. Next time, don't let it happen, though. You're supposed to meet with each of them after school today, just to answer any questions they might still have. You will remember, right?" she asked pointedly.

            "Of course! Not a problem. And once again, I apologize for this morning…"

            "Don't worry about it. Oh, by the way, here's the list of names of the new students so you can review it before you meet them."

            "Thank you very much, I will do that!" said Takuya, still trying to make up for his blunder.

            The principal handed him the list and walked away to talk with another staff member. Takuya skimmed over the list, sipping his coffee. Suddenly, he spat the mouthful out, all over the paper.

            "Oh shit!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Kagome came out of the bathroom just as the bell for passing rang. She pushed the meeting of a few moments to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on her classes. Besides, she was going to drama next – she'd have an easy time forgetting while she pretended to be someone else. Her teacher had told them that they were going to be working on a play, just for practice. Today, they were going to start.

            Kagome noticed that she was getting odd stares from some people in the hallway, and some people were whispering. She supposed the girls from the other day had told them about how odd she had acted after school. She shrugged it off.

            However, that was more than she could manage to do in drama. People were still staring at her when class started, but the teacher started class quickly. She launched into an explanation of the play.

            "Ok, class, here's the plan: you guys are a small class, so I'm going to let you decided who each person is and all of those things. I'll be here only to help & critique your actual acting. Does this sound good to everybody?"

            The class, only 20 strong, muttered a reply that sounded somewhat like a yes. Undaunted by the less than enthusiastic answer, the teacher continued.

            "Ok then! Who would like to be the director?"

            Some of the people who weren't very good actors raised their hands, as did Kagome. However, the part went to one particularly terrible girl, who didn't realize just how bad she was.

            "Ok, Rika, come get the script. Once everyone has their parts, start learning some lines! I want to be able to perform this in 3 weeks!"

            The class knew that this would never happen, as they had no one to perform for, but since this made a nice relief from embarrassing stage games and boring monologues, they decided to make the best of it. The teacher sat down and pulled out her book, and Rika took over.

            "Ok, everyone, the play's called "Inu-yasha: A Feudal Fairytale". I've read this story before, and it's an excellent story. The main characters are Inu-yasha and Kagome Higurashi-" Rika broke off here, realizing that this was a classmate. While she double checked the name, the rest of the class turned to stare at Kagome, who was wide-eyed. They had made a play out of the story?

            "Well, that's the right name…" Rika looked worried – she had heard the rumor from Mika about Kagome. Rika eyed her cautiously, then continued. "This story takes place in the Warring States Era, and demons and magic exist everywhere. The story begins…"

            But Kagome wasn't listening. She kept trying to shut out Rika's voice – she didn't want to hear the story… not again… Kagome stared determinedly at her desk. She didn't even look up when Rika was interrupted by a knock on the door. She heard a male voice from the doorway.

            "Is this the drama class? I'm new, and I'm afraid I'm lost."

            "Yes, you've come to the right place," smiled the drama teacher. "You must be one of the transferred students. What's you're name?"

            What Kagome heard next made her sit up straight in the blink of an eye; so fast, for that matter, that the people around her stopped looking at the cute new guy to stare at her instead. Kagome didn't even notice them, but started slowly shaking her head in almost fearful disbelief as she stared the handsome guy with violet eyes and a ponytail before her.

            "I'm Miroku, Miroku Komatsu."

            Heh heh heh… Not what you expected, was it? Ya, it was short, sorry! It was going to be longer, but I posted it anyways. I'm sorry for the long wait – it won't happen again (hopefully). Keep reviewing! I'm still open to any ideas! I'm always open to critique! Talk to me, people! The more reviews I get, the sooner u get the next chapter!!!!


	8. LWHIW8

Can you believe it? I updated! Miracles do happen, ne, beady? Sorry for the long wait again, but I have a lot going on in my life, including a family member being in the hospital. I have been very busy. So sorry minna!!!!

            Still don't own them… get over it…

            On with the fic!

_"Is this the drama class? I'm new, and I'm afraid I'm lost."_

_            "Yes, you've come to the right place," smiled the drama teacher. "You must be one of the transferred students. What's you're name?"_

_            What Kagome heard next made her sit up straight in the blink of an eye; so fast, for that matter, that the people around her stopped looking at the cute new guy to stare at her instead. Kagome didn't even notice them, but started slowly shaking her head in almost fearful disbelief as she stared the handsome guy with violet eyes and a ponytail before her._

_            "I'm Miroku, Miroku Komatsu."_

            "Nice to meet you, Miroku! You're just in time! We're just getting to know the play that we will be working on for the next few weeks. You haven't missed much at all! Lets see, how about we have you sit in that empty seat by Higurashi. Higurashi, raise your hand please! We can't expect Komatsu to know you yet!" called the ever-cheerful teacher.

            Kagome raised a shaking hand, wondering if she had really gone crazy, wondering if this was a trick of her eyes. She didn't blink as Miroku came towards her with a puzzled look on his face. Finally, he took his place next to her and turned to face her. All the girls were staring. Most were glaring in jealousy and trying to catch Miroku's eye, but those who had heard the rumor and were familiar with the story (like Rika) looked on in horror. Frantic whisperings were to be heard as more looks changed from jealousy to fear.

            "Komatsu, the play is called Inu-yasha: A Feudal Fairytale. We were just going over the story, but I'll have Rika start again"

            "Oh, that won't be necessary – I'm familiar with this story."

            "Oh, ok! Then please continue, Rika!" called the teacher.

            Rika did as she was told, but only with half of her previous audience, and even she was distracted. Kagome looked horrified and was staring at Miroku, still trying to figure out if she was dreaming.

            Finally, Miroku spoke up, but quietly, so as not to interrupt the class.

            "Excuse me, but your staring is starting to frighten me. I've gotten stares from the ladies all day, but I must say that yours is most disconcerting."

            "I… I…"

            "Say…" said Miroku, looking closer at her. "Do I know you from somewhere? Higurashi… that does sound familiar… What's your first name?"

            "K… Kagome…"

            "Ah! No wonder the name was familiar! It's right out of the story. Is that the character you'll be playing, then?"

            Kagome shook her head, still wide-eyed. Miroku gave her a funny glance. 

            "You mean… that's your name?"

            "Hai..."

            "You don't talk to guys much, do you?"

            "But… D… I… Do you… remember?"

            "Remember? Then we have met before! I never forget a pretty face! I'm afraid you'll have to remind me when, though…"

            Kagome looked him dead in the eyes. He honestly looked clueless. This was definitely Miroku, but not the same one that she had known. Same personality, same manner, but… no memories. Or maybe he did remember, but he was acting. It would be weird if he remembered that he had lived in the feudal era… People would never believe him! That was fair enough… But if it was really him, he would have given her some kind of sign. A wink, maybe…

            Unfortunately, the conversation and Kagome's thoughts were interrupted as Rika got everyone's attention.

            "Ok! It's time to pick roles!" Then she gave Miroku a flirty look and said, "Miroku, would you like to be our Miroku?"

            "Sure, why not? I always fancied myself to be like him…" he said with a rather evil glint in his eye as he eyed the girl next to him.

            "Oh, that's wonderful!" Rika said loudly, getting Miroku's attention back on her. "Lets see… Shizu, we'll have you be Sango, ok?" said Rika to the girl Miroku had been eyeing, who was a friend of Rika's. 

            "Sounds good to me!"

            Rika continued down the list of characters, until only a few were left.

            "Ok… let's have… hmmm… Shiori!" said Rika, addressing the best actress in class. "Will you be my Kagome?"

            "Well, of course."

            "No."

            "Ok, who's left…"

            "No!" 

            This time Rika didn't ignore the voice. Slowly, she raised her head to look at Kagome.

            "No what, Kagome?"

            "I know you won't let me be who I am, but I refuse to be Kikyo."

            "How did you…?"

            "I've been listening. She's the only one left."

"You're not Kagome Higurashi! Not this one, anyways."

"I will NOT be that bitch!" Kagome yelled, standing. She hadn't felt rage like this since she had left the feudal era, but now she blazed with it.

            "Higurashi!"

            Now the teacher had jumped into the fray.

            "I will not tolerate that kind of language in here! Also, Rika is in charge, so if she wants you to be Kikyo, you will be Kikyo. That's final."

            "Besides," said Rika, in a less-than-soothing voice, "they have the same soul; they're pretty much the same person."

            "No we're not!" yelled Kagome, but was surprised to hear another voice come to her aide.

            "They most certainly are not!"

            The whole class turned to stare at Miroku, who was looking surprised at his own outburst. What had spurred him like that? Especially to defend this crazy girl…

            "Higurashi, you are not this Kagome of legend! You…"

            But Kagome wasn't listening. She was staring at Miroku.

            "Miroku-sama… are you in there?"

            The whole class stared. What the heck was happening? This girl was crazy!

            Miroku seemed to come to the same realization as the rest of the class. Kagome could see it in his eyes.

            "Ummm… I'm afraid I don't understand…"

            "Please… Please, tell me you remember!"

            "Remember what?"

            "Everything! Inu-yasha, Sango, Shippo… the jewel… you can't have forgotten Naraku! The things that he did to you… to all of us… Oh!"

            Suddenly Kagome grabbed his right hand to look. There, barely visible, was a thin scar in the middle of the hand.

            "Look! This is what Naraku gave you!" 

            "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I've had that since birth." Miroku was trying to act normal, but this girl was spazzing. Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she desperately needed this story to be true. Her eyes looked so frightened, he actually felt sorry for her.

            "Higurashi! What are you doing? What-" Rika leaned over and whispered in the teacher's ear. His eyes went wide. "Higurashi! Come here."

            But Kagome didn't listen. Her world was spinning. She had to get out of here, get to somewhere where the world made sense. Luckily, the bell rang as she fled from the class room. The halls quickly became packed with students, and the teacher couldn't find her. He quickly went to call the counselor.

            Kagome was lost in a private hell. She was being pushed through the halls by the mobs, yet it felt like she was being thrashed by a sea. Everywhere she looked, people were staring at her. For some reason, she could no longer tell if they were people from her time or the other one. Finally, she found a gap and jumped against a wall, thoroughly distraught. As the crowds started to get a little thinner, she turned, feeling a little better after her breather, and started to head to her next class.

            Or at least, that was the plan.

            The first thing Kagome did was bump into someone, who dropped all of her books.

            "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Kagome apologized, kneeling down to help pick the books up. "I wasn't watching where I was going! Let me… help… SANGO?"

            "Umm… yes, actually… Do I know you?"

            Kagome grabbed her shoulder.

            "Please tell me you remember," she said harshly, staring at Sango with those same desperate eyes that she had given Miroku. However, she only frightened the girl in front of her. Sango pulled away, her high ponytail swinging as she did so.

            One of the girls who had heard the rumor noticed what was happening on the floor. She quickly came to Sango's rescue.

            "Oh, I've been looking all over for you! Hurry, we're going to be late!" said Shizu pointedly to the alarmed Sango. Shizu grabbed the last of Sango's books and hauled the girl away, leaving Kagome still sitting on the floor. However, as they left, Kagome heard one thing clearer than they had realized.

            "Watch out for that one. She's completely crazy!"

            People in the area stopped and stared at Kagome, but then moved on. But then Kagome did something that had everyone staring.

            She screamed.

            Now when most people scream, people nearby may cover ears, and others may be irritated. But this scream was different. It was one of sheer pain. It was louder than most children would ever achieve, yet not so shrill as to actually hurt one's ears. However, it sent a shock to the core of everyone in the hall, and people in other buildings wondered what was happening.

            A dead silence fell in the hallway after Kagome stopped screaming. A fluttering of paper was heard at the end of a hall, but no one moved. Then whispers started. But Kagome didn't notice. She was sobbing again.

            And she was still crying, her small body folded over her knees, when Takuya found her.

            YAY!!!! I did it! I'll try to update soon! This is getting close to ending now! Can you believe it!

            Please review! I love all my wonderful reviewers! And beady! (beady has surpassed being a reviewer; beady's a slave driver! ^.~  Couldn't have done it without u!)

            More soon!

~~Koneko-chan~~


	9. LWHIW9

You all thought it wasn't possible… you said I couldn't do it… I laugh at you! Especially beady and livvi!!!! I UPDATED!!!!!!!!!!!! SO THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In under a week, too… wow, I'm getting better at this… ^.~

Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! I love you all!!! I just have one request: I love your reviews and all, but please, I know my story, so there's no need to tell me what's happening, k? Questions are welcome (though I won't answer), even flames, and I'd love criticism, but don't repeat my story to me! Thank you!

Anywhoo… On with the story! This is the chapter you've all been waiting for!

Chapter 9

Inu-yasha

_A dead silence fell in the hallway after Kagome stopped screaming. A fluttering of paper was heard at the end of a hall, but no one moved. Then whispers started. But Kagome didn't notice. She was sobbing again._

_            And she was still crying, her small body folded over her knees, when Takuya found her._

            'Oh kami-sama… I didn't realize she was in such a bad condition!' Takuya thought as he approached her. He touched her back, trying to get her attention, but she didn't seem to feel it. Takuya turned to nearby students, asking what had happened. Most of them didn't know, but then a girl from the drama class stepped forward. Her locker was right next to the sobbing Kagome, so she had seen everything. Takuya instructed everyone else to get to class, while he talked to the girl. 

Kagome just sat there, still curled over her knees and sobbing, waiting for the horrid things to stop. Sango and Miroku were both here, but neither of them knew who she was… at all… or was she hallucinating? Had she actually gone crazy? Her body continued to tremble with sobs.

"Damn…" Takuya had now heard the whole story, and he felt terrible. This was just one helluva day!

"Ok, Kagome… come with me please. Kagome…" he touched her back again. "Come on Kagome." 

Kagome still didn't respond. She just kept crying.

Takuya stood in indecision. He couldn't just leave her here, but he really needed to get help for her. Then, his salvation came. A lone student, obviously lost, came around the corner, grumbling about how stupid the classrooms were because he couldn't find them. Takuya quickly called to the boy.

"Excuse me! I really need your help!"

"What?!? Why? I'm already late for class! I-"

"This is an emergency! The tardy won't be held against you, I promise. I'm a counselor, so I can freely enlist your help."

"Fine, fine, what do I have to do?"

"Just stay here and watch this girl. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere." Takuya looked at Kagome one last time. "It looks like she might be going into shock. Try and comfort her if you can…"

"Is she hurt or something? I don't see any blood…"

"She has some mental problems, and she's had a severe breakdown. I need to get her some help right away. Just stay here, I'll be back as soon as the help arrives!" Takuya yelled as he sprinted down the hall. 

However, it would turn out that Takuya's 'salvation' would really be the exact opposite…

***************************************

Throughout all of this, Kagome had not heard a word. She merely lay there, her mind now completely empty. Her mind was so shocked that she just felt empty and frightened as she lay panting on the floor, eyes drained of tears.

The boy looked at the girl. Comfort, especially to a stranger… well, ok, anyone… was definitely not something he had in mind. He was above such things. 

But then he looked closer, and did something that surprised even him.

 He started to walk towards her.

There was something about this girl… the sight of her so broken up touched something deep inside him. He couldn't say quite what it was. He carefully walked over to her, cautiously approaching so as not to scare her.

"Hey… hey, girl… um, everything's ok… well, not really, but…" he continued to ramble like that, with no real point or comfort in his voice. It was rather gruff, and he was very tempted to shut up. However, he reached over and gently tapped her shoulder.

Kagome was so lost in her emptiness that it took her a while to realize that someone was speaking to her. Not that she particularly cared. She was empty, with no emotion at all to fill the gap.

Or so she thought.

The voice that floated down to her, distant though it seemed to her ears, sounded familiar. It sounded like…

'No! It can't be!'

Still in an empty daze, Kagome looked up into the eyes of the boy who was attempting to comfort her. 

Kagome's strained and shimmering eyes met with rather frightened, yet definitely concerned violet ones.

The boy blinked, then asked, "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" He knew it wasn't the time or place, but it seemed that he'd seen her before, and not just around school. This was his first day, of course he hadn't seen her before!

Kagome moved her gaze from the boy's eyes. The first things she noticed were the twin locks of hair on either side, running right next to his face, while the rest of his black, silky hair was back over his shoulders. He had a handsome body, and was quite good looking.

Of course, she had always though he looked good. Even human, as he was now.

"I… Inu… yasha…?" Kagome asked weakly, still completely drained.

The boy pulled back slightly in surprise.

"Then I _do_ know you?"

Kagome looked at the boy in front of her. Then, slowly, she reached up and touched his face. As she did so, he gave her that look that she knew so well – his 'I think your crazy' look. She merely cracked a weak smile. It was him. It was Inu-yasha.

"Do you remember…?" she asked, still with a dazed voice, but rather frightened still.

"… remember what?" 

The smile faded off Kagome's face. Inu-yasha felt a twinge of hurt somewhere deep within him as the smile withered away.

"You've got to remember… please, you must be in there! Please! It's me, Kagome! Kagome who you traveled with, fought with! You saved me so many times! You must remember! Naraku, the Shikon no tama, Shippo, Sango, Miroku…" Kagome cried, as Inu-yasha started to pull away. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Please don't leave me alone." 

Her eyes shimmered, but not a tear fell.

Something about her voice, and the strange necklace that this 'Kagome' wore (which seemed to be glowing slightly), brought on a surge of some feeling from deep within him, almost like a memory that was just out of reach. 

Then, two tears fell from her eyes, one after the other. The feeling that Inu-yasha had just felt surged, and for a minute, he could have sworn he'd seen this before. Without realizing what he was doing, he grabbed her wrist before her tears hit the ground. Something inside told him that if he didn't do this, she might vanish.

Kagome, feeling the sudden contact, gasped and looked up at him again. He looked confused. Then he looked down at his arm, and quickly drew it away. What had come over him?

Inu-yasha looked back up at Kagome. He knew he'd seen her before, but where?

Kagome and Inu-yasha hadn't even heard the sirens as an ambulance approached to take her away. However, their moment was shattered when Takuya came running around the corner with two paramedics, ready for the worst. They were rather surprised to see the two staring at each other, but Takuya was definitely relieved to see that she had moved, even if she did still seem shocked.

Slowly, the trio approached the two. Inu-yasha seemed relieved to see them, for he was getting frightened. Kagome appeared to have not registered their presence, and was still staring at Inu-yasha, her eyes pleading with him to remember.

"Kagome? Kagome, come with us, please." Takuya spoke to her, but got no response; she continued to stare at Inu-yasha. "This is strange… What's your name? How did you get her attention?"

"She thinks she knows me, and she's trying to get me to remember something…" Inu-yasha said, leaning away from her slightly.

The color drained from Takuya's face.

"What's your name?"

"Inu-yasha…"

Takuya flinched. Of course! His watch student had to be the one with the name of the guy this girl thought she loved.

Meanwhile, the two paramedics walked towards Kagome cautiously, not wanting her to freak out. She didn't move as they laid hands on her, but as they started to drag her slightly, she resisted, and fiercely at that!

"No! No, leave me here! Inu-yasha, help me! Please, you've got to remember!" Kagome yelled as the paramedics managed to start to drag her away. She managed to slip away for a minute and run towards him, but this time she wasn't calling out. Actually, she seemed rather focused suddenly, and her dazed look was gone. She was searching his face. Then she asked something that caught him off guard.

"Do you… Do you remember… Kikyo?" 

It was almost a whisper, but he heard her. His eyes went wide. How could she have known? Suddenly, her face blended with a scene from his head. The background changed, but her face, tear stained, yet tear-free, remained as it was. The scene seemed to be at night, because moonlight surrounded her, as well as another glow…

As soon as the vision came, it was gone. The paramedics had Kagome under control again, but she wasn't even trying to struggle. She was coming quietly, once again silent with pain and sorrow, as she had been for so long, walking at a normal pace, head down, her hair covering her face. Yet everyone felt strange, as though the air was being suppressed by something.

Kagome got down to where the ambulance was, but when she got there, she realized something. She wasn't crazy. She had seen that look in his eyes. Even if the memory had been started by Kikyo's memory… It didn't matter. No one remembered. Inu-yasha remember Kikyo, but not her. Tears started coming down her face again, but she couldn't stop them. Then the tears were accompanied by a sob, and then another. 

Suddenly, she bolted. The paramedics hadn't expected this, and were caught so off-guard that she got away easily and had a good head start before they started the chase. Kagome ran into the park, where she had gone before. There were a lot of trees, and she quickly lost her pursuers. Of course, part of her escape was due to the miko energy that she was exerting in her sorrow, which was hiding her from them.

After a while, Kagome couldn't run anymore; or at least, not through the trees. She had hit herself on a couple, and bruises were forming. She went to back a ways, and then towards a path that she knew of. A snap of a twig warned her pursuers were approaching. She ran again, for now the trees were much fewer. 

Suddenly, she burst onto a trail. She immediately started running as hard as she could. She was running faster than she had ever before, even when she had been in the feudal era – at a speed that would have impressed even Inu-yasha. 

And then, quite suddenly, she ran into nothing and fell flat on her back with the wind knocked out of her.

Meanwhile, the 'nothing' that she had just run into start cursing colorfully, before saying something that caught her attention.

"KAGOME???????"

**************************************************************************************************************

Oh, I'm evil. Who/what did Kagome run into? Why did Inu-yasha remember Kikyo? Or did he?

Well, please review! This story's coming to a close, and I need to pick my ending (I have two options), but I need to know what u guys want. Sad or happy, everyone! I need to know ASAP!!!!! If you review, I'll give you an imaginary cookie! I've got a whole store from reviewing the stories of others! Koyo (my computer guardian and ultimate demon of rage) is eating them all the time, so they're going fast! Review!

Hoping for many reviews,

~~Koneko-chan~~


	10. LWHIW10

Story recap: Inu-chan showed up, they shared a moment, he didn't remember, she asked if he remembered Kikyo, he remembered something, but you don't know what yet. So there. .

_And then, quite suddenly, she ran into nothing and fell flat on her back with the wind knocked out of her._

_Meanwhile, the 'nothing' that she had just run into staredt cursing colorfully, before saying something that caught her attention._

"_KAGOME???????"_

Kagome's eyes went wide, totally confused. There was nothing there, but something obviously recognized her. Not to mention the thing that she had run into had been very heavy, and had thrown her a couple of feet on impact. But there was nothing there.

"Kagome! Oh my gosh, it's you!" Kagome was sure she was crazy now; she was hearing voices! Maybe she had imagined seeing all her old friends today....

So of course, she nearly screamed when the invisible entity broke her thoughts by trying to help her up off her back. She rolled quickly away, but wasn't together enough to actually stand up yet. Instead, she lay in the dust, panting.

"Who's there?"

"You don't recognize me?" came the hurt reply.

"What the hell is going on?!?" Kagome screamed, scared to death.

Suddenly, and quite to Kagome's fright, another voice entered the strange conversation. It was sweet, and rather high, and it sounded slightly exasperated.

"The spell, sweety. She can't see you."

There came a slapping noise, very like to when someone slaps themselves on the head out of stupidity.

"Of course... what would I do without you?"

A little giggle followed from the female voice.

A quiet murmur filled the air, and suddenly, right in front of her, about six feet high, and with no apparent source, fire appeared. Blue fire.

Then it died away, and Kagome could only stare in shock at the two figures before her, hardly able to comprehend what had happened.

"Sh... Shippo-chan?"

"The one and only!"

Kagome continued to stare at the now-grown kit. Was this really the little Shippo that she had left a couple years ago, sleeping with Kirara?

He was now quite tall, nearly six feet, and had a much larger tail, which was very bushy and the same auburn color of his hair. He wore a pair of jeans and a rather tight shirt, which brought out his well-built form wonderfully, and his blue eyes shimmered with joy and wonder.

Suddenly, he lunged forward and hauled her onto her feet, demonstrating that he still had the same energy from his youth, and heaved her into a tremendous hug, spinning around in circles with joy.

Suddenly, the yokai-girl that was with him spoke up again, her joyful smile vanishing.

"Quiet!" She commanded. She sniffed at the air, and Shippo did too. "Humans are coming! Quick, Shippo, put the spell back up! They're coming fast!"

Shippo started to murmur, and the two started to disappear. Kagome, still in shock, nearly screamed at this. Were they just going to disappear? This was even worse than the others! Shippo at least remembered her (as did this strange girl, although Kagome didn't recognize her)! And he was disappearing!

"No, please! Don't go!"

"We'll still be here – we just can't be seen by mortals." Explained the girl.

"But they're chasing me! At least put the spell on me too!" she said, and Shippo, noting the fear in her scent, immediately started over, and she disappeared with them. It was strange, because she seemed translucent, as did Shippo and the girl, but they assured her that mortals couldn't see her.

As the men came racing in, looking around for a trail, the yokai and human backed quietly into the woods.

Once they were a good ways away, they all sat down to talk, quietly.

"Excuse me if I'm being rude," began Kagome, turning to the yokai girl, "but you seem to know me, yet I have no idea who you are. I'm sorry if it's just me not remembering, but..." she trailed off.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry! I wondered why you didn't recognize me, but you weren't there then! Of course, oh, I'm sorry! I'm Shippo's mate, but you were long gone then. It's me, - "

She was cut off by Shippo, who stood behind her and covered her mouth, looking at Kagome playfully.

"Guess."

Kagome took a close look at the girl. She, too, had a tail, but hers was longer and smoother than Shippo's, and it was blonde with a black tip. She also had ears similar to Inu-yasha's (Kagome gulped with that realization), but they were smaller, and they, too, were tipped with black. They stuck out at a cute angle from her soft blonde hair. Her eyes were a bright red, and seemed to have a ferocious gleam to them if you glanced at them. She so resembled a memory of Kagome's, but she couldn't quite remember. At least, not until she thought about that last night at the campfire...

"...Kirara?" Kagome asked, completely caught off guard by the revelation.

"Wow, you got it!" she exclaimed, beaming at the girl.

"But... I never... I thought..." Kagome stammered.

Shippo explained.

"When I hit my puberty years (not long after you left, actually... immense growth spurt, you see), we were really close. I had totally relied on her after you left. It was terrible! And then when Inu-yasha left about a month later... I stayed with Miroku and Sango for a while, but then I just had to wander! Kirara came with me. Over time, I realized how close I was to her. Then we heard a rumor of a powerful witch, who had achieved great fame for a huge alteration spell of some kind. I never did hear what it was... Anyways, we visited, and she understood Kirara's wish, although I didn't. We never could speak to each other, you see."

"I gave up my kitten form in order to have a human one. It cost quite a bit of money for so great a spell, but she pulled it off. I'm really about the same age as Shippo, because different yokai age at different stages." Kirara explained to a severely confused looking Kagome.

"We traveled on, and well... fell in love. And we've been traveling and having fun ever since!" Shippo concluded.

But then, and quite unexpectedly, the happy kitsune's face clouded with a worried expression.

"I just remembered... we... found something near the witch's village as we were leaving... I think you should have it..." Shippo said very solemnly. Kirara, too, seemed to have lost all traces of joy, and had transformed to the picture of suppressed sorrow.

Shippo dug through his small bag, and Kagome realized it must have been kitsune magic that made it seem so small, because he pulled more and more out of it, searching for something, and his whole arm vanished into the small backpack, which looked like it should barely fit both his hands. Finally, he found it. With a small rattle of wood, he placed something in Kagome's hands.

"They were his. His scent's still on them..."

Kagome finally broke her gaze away from the couple's faces to look at what was in her hands. And gasped.

It was the rosary.

Don't complain about the wait, I don't want to hear it. I've been feeling incredibly not creative, cuz all my ff files got deleted. All of them. So if any of you copied any of my chapters into Word (which I know some people do), if you could send them to me, it'd be great. Ya... thanx.

But at least I did update, ne? happy I actually felt creative tonight! And I know exactly how I'm going to end it. But I'm not telling you how! So there!

No disclaimer at the beginning, but do u really think I own them? Sheesh...

I'd respond to reviews, but I'm too tired to go look them up. Sorry.

Review please!


	11. LWHIW11

Heh. So, I got you all confused, ne? That's kinda funny. I thought someone would have figured it out. What I'm going to do, that is. If anyone can tell me at the end of the chapter, I will give u special recognition in the next chapter! And a cookie! Ah, well. Here's the next chapter!!! Btw - Sry I don't do reviewer responses - I don't have time! You'll just have to know that I love u all!!! If u do want me to respond to u, e-mail me instead! I count that as a review! Disclaimer: give u 3 guesses what goes here.. And on with the show!!!  
  
Love Will Have Its Way  
  
Chapter 11  
  
"They were his. His scent's still on them."  
  
Kagome finally broke her gaze away from the couple's faces to look at what was in her hands. And gasped. It was the rosary.  
"I. but." Kagome turned her desperate eyes on Shippo again. ".how?"  
  
"We found it as we left the village where the witch who helped us was. There was a huge burst of miko energy still remaining there, although we could tell it was a few weeks old. We think that the witch who helped us might have." he trailed off, looking at the ground so as to avoid her tear filled eyes. "We never. we couldn't go back and ask. Not after what she'd done. And besides, it. It hurt too much." He looked up at her again  
  
Even if she was transparent from their invisibility spell, it was a heartbreaking sight. Her hair was dirty and mussed up from all the running and hitting the ground; her legs were bleeding in places where she had hit bushes in the forest, and her cheek had a small, bleeding scratch on it. Finally, Shippo walked over and hugged the girl that he still, even now, nearly 500 years later, viewed as his mother.  
  
Kagome felt like she was choking, and remained rigid in Shippo's grasp. He was dead. This was probably just a vision, a dream - all her friends there, but not remembering her - sent to tell her to get on with her life. This whole day was probably a bad dream. Kagome broke from Shippo's grasp sharply, shaking her head. This has to be a dream.  
  
"This has to be a dream. This can't be real! I want to wake up!" she yelled desperately, having entered a state of hysteria. "I want to wake up and I want to go through the well and I want him to ask why I took so long. Please, please, wake up now. please." she cried, then fainted unexpectedly from all of the stress. Shippo caught her just before she collapsed and eased her down and into his arms to hold her close. He knew that she was hurting, and maybe holding her the way that Inu-yasha always had when he had been protecting her wouldn't help, but perhaps it would keep her from having real nightmares, and she could get the sleep he could see she really needed. For now.  
  
He turned to Kirara.  
  
"We may have lived for all these years together, but. I think it's only been a little while for her. This must be the world that was on the other side of the well. Or. the world of my youth is now. Poor Kagome."  
  
Kirara nodded her transparent head, half in awe, half in pity for the poor, mentally exhausted girl in her mate's arms.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
Where we left Inu-yasha.  
  
"Do you. Do you remember. Kikyo?"  
  
It was almost a whisper, but he heard her. His eyes went wide. How could she have known? Suddenly, her face blended with a scene from his mind. The background changed, but her face, tear stained, yet tear-free, remained as it was. The scene seemed to be at night, because moonlight surrounded her, as well as another glow.  
  
As soon as the vision came, it was gone.  
  
Inu-yasha stared in shock as the girl was lead away, going quietly now. She had gotten very sad after she saw his reaction, but he didn't know why. How on earth could she have known about Kikyo? He'd never told anyone!  
  
Maybe it was just a coincidence. After all, that girl had just been taken away for being crazy. Yeah, that was it. It was chance, nothing important. Nothing to get worked up about.  
  
Unfortunately, that didn't stop it from clouding his head. The fact that he was still lost didn't help either. He was soon quite pissed off and worried, whether he wanted to be or not.  
  
"Argh! Where is the damn classroom?!?" He yelled when he reached the front doors for what appeared to be the fifth time, unaware that every time he had walked by the classroom, he had been in far too much of a daze to realize it.  
  
Finally he decided to give up and go for a walk (outside, for he had already been walking for quite a while) and clear his head, not worrying about finding the classroom. It's not like cutting class was anything new for him, for he was far from a good student, and he could always claim that he had been lost, and ended up in the wrong room unnoticed by the teacher.  
  
The fresh air helped a lot. Well, not really, but he could focus on that girl now that he was away from the school. Of course, he had no idea where he was going, but he just kept walking. He soon found himself in a park. That he didn't recognize. 'Well, isn't this great,' he thought. He wandered up to a tree to get out of the rather sudden burst of sun, and sat down to try and clear his head (again - it still wasn't working). He did, however, manage to put himself to sleep, where he was visited by the face of that girl, Kagome. And then, her face merged with that face he knew so well, that he knew by name, and always had-  
  
'Kikyo.'  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Shippo gently shook Kagome awake. She had been sleeping in his arms for two hours now, while he had talked with Kirara. There had been one point where the men who had been chasing Kagome had come through, scaring the two of them to death. Thankfully, they still had the spell up, and the men ran right by. Other than that, nothing had happened while she slept. However, it was almost sunset.  
  
"Kagome. Kagome, we have to go. It's getting late," he whispered quietly in her ear.  
  
Kagome awoke without too much trouble, though she had been surprised at first to see Shippo - until she remembered the day's events. Shippo had sadly watched as her memories, which had been removed for a time by sleep, slowly flooded her brain again. He watched as her eyes went from frightened to realization to a state of depression he could feel radiating off her body.  
  
Kirara broke the heavy silence with a sad voice.  
  
"We're sorry Kagome. we have to leave. Today was our last day in Tokyo. We. Well, actually, we work as travel agents - we find all kinds of good places for people to stay and such by trying them out. And we find trails and things for books. And, well. We're due back in America soon. Our plane leaves tonight. I'm sorry."  
  
She trailed off as Kagome looked down, and they could smell the tears she was trying to hold back.  
  
"But. but if you leave. what if it's all a dream? What if."  
  
Shippo broke in.  
  
"It's not a dream, Kagome! We'll write, I promise! That way you'll know! I'll use kitsune messages - you'll like them a lot! And no one but you can read them, so they're really special. I promise, it'll be ok."  
  
Kagome wiped her eyes and nodded. She looked up at Shippo, still a little teary, but better.  
  
"Ok."  
  
He gave her a smile, then came over and gave her a big hug. This time she hugged him back.  
  
"Everything will be ok. I promise."  
  
"You're right Shippo. everything's gonna be ok. I'm gonna go make everything ok now." she said quietly, wearing the smallest of smiles.  
  
When they broke the embrace, a transparent Kirara, in the full transformed mode that Kagome remembered so well, was ready and waiting for Shippo. Apparently they were going to fly to the airport.  
  
Kagome was rather suddenly surrounded by smoke, which scared her. She stumbled backwards, and fell right out of it. From her place on the ground, she noticed the solid state that her limbs were now in, telling her that she was no longer invisible. She felt a whisper of the wind, and knew that they were gone. Again. And she had no proof that it had happened.  
  
No, that wasn't true. Kagome looked down at the rosary that was still in her hand, a single tear leaking down her cheek. She looked up at the sky again, where somewhere, Shippo and Kirara were flying. Then she left - she had a promise to keep to Shippo.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
I think I'll leave it there for now. Sorry folks! I was planning on writing more, but I don't know when I'll get to write more, so I wanted to get this up tonight.  
  
Please be forgiving of mistakes!!! And I'm so sorry for the long wait! OMG, If u could see my hw load, u would understand. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!!!  
  
Tell me what u think! Was the Shippo/Kirara thing good? Was it disgusting? How 'bout the rest of the fic? Please tell me!!!! 


	12. LWHIW12

Hello again, everyone! I live! Sorry for the long wait, it's been hell lately. But here it is! The second-to-last chapter! Yay!!!! And I made it really long to thank everyone for all their patience. Except beady, who never was very patient, but deserves lots of thanks anyways. ^.~  
  
Thank you to all of my reviewers! I love you all! I wouldn't have made it through this without you!!!!!!  
  
A/N: READ THIS!!!!!! Ok, I need to let you know that I don't have any end notes on this one. I had to leave the suspense. Please review! And this is NOT the last chapter - that's the next one. ^.~ And maybe an epilogue. We'll see. You have to tell me. Also, I apologize for any silly mistakes - tell me if u find any. I'm writing this quite late.  
  
And now. enjoy.  
  
Love Will Have Its Way  
Chapter 12  
  
Kagome was rather suddenly surrounded by smoke, which scared her. She stumbled backwards, and fell right out of it. From her place on the ground, she noticed the solid state that her limbs were now in, telling her that she was no longer invisible. She felt a whisper of the wind, and knew that they were gone. Again. And she had no proof that it had happened.  
  
No, that wasn't true. Kagome looked down at the rosary that was still in her hand, a single tear leaking down her cheek. She looked up at the sky again, where somewhere, Shippo and Kirara were flying. Then she left - she had a promise to keep to Shippo.  
  
Kagome walked with a purpose now, headed out of the park. It was a long walk, and she had to keep hidden - there was now a full search party looking for her.  
  
However, it wasn't the search party that found her first.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Inu-yasha had awoken from his nap. It hadn't been a nice nap, that was for sure. He hadn't slept well in a long time, so this wasn't entirely surprising.  
  
She'd been in his dreams again - Kikyo. She was always there. He just wished he could remember why. He could never remember what his dreams were about - just that she was in them. It was very strange, but there wasn't much he could do. But he remembered that girl - Kagome - she'd been there too.. And her face had faded into Kikyo's. What did that mean?  
  
Inu-yasha sighed. Confusing dreams, and he was no interpreter. As a matter of fact, he was getting tired of not sleeping well lately; the dreams had been so frequent, it was almost scary. He didn't know either of these girls, yet their faces were dancing in his head..  
  
"Keh. What does it matter?" Inu-yasha asked the tree as he stared up into its branches. "It's not like I'll ever see an actual Kikyo, and that Kagome girl was just hauled off to some nut house. I should just forget..it.  
  
"Well speak of the devil.." Inu-yasha mumbled under his breath as Kagome walked by without noticing him. Of course, judging by the determined look in her eye, he wasn't surprised that she'd overlooked him. Her expression was set, and that determination appeared to be one of the utmost resolution. In her hands were clutched what appeared to be beads on a string, like some kind of rosary or something from a temple. Inu-yasha raised an eyebrow. 'How unusual. She was supposed to have been locked up. What's she doing here?'  
  
After a quick battle with his conscience, Inu-yasha decided to follow her. If she had somehow escaped, and was supposed to be in the nut house, he could easily overpower her and take her to the authorities. If not, well, now his curiosity was aroused, so he might as well follow her. If she caught him, he'd just ask her what the heck she was doing. Ya, that was it.  
  
Satisfied with his master plan, Inu-yasha set out after Kagome. At a safe distance, of course. She led him out of the park (thank goodness- he'd been lost) and into the city. They kept walking and walking, and he couldn't tell where she was going at all. Where would a 17-year-old psycho go?  
  
Deeper and deeper into the city they went. Inu-yasha was impressed with the girl's stamina - she looked like this was quite a walk for her petite & non-athletic body, but she didn't seem tired at all. He guessed she didn't care that she would be sore tomorrow.  
  
Suddenly she slowed, then ran up to another guy that Inu-yasha sorta recognized. Wasn't that that Hobo guy from first period? (A/N - school's been out for a long time - they were napping) What would a zany girl like Kagome want with a quiet, popular guy like him? He watched them converse, then whatshisname pulled a paper and pen out of his bag and handed them to her. Kagome used the nearby wall as her table, and scrawled a note onto the paper. She returned the pen to Hojo, then continued to fold the paper into a note shape. Then she turned her back to Inu-yasha, and he couldn't see what was happening. He quickly, yet carefully, moved forward so he could see what was happening without being seen. Kagome appeared to be giving him quick and quiet instructions, and he looked bewildered. Suddenly, Kagome took off through the crowded streets again, this time at a light run, calling to Hojo, who was still bewildered (go figure).  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
Hojo tried to ask one last question, but she was already gone. However, Inu-yasha heard it.  
  
"But why to Inu-yasha?!?" he yelled. However, he was too late, and Kagome was out of sight.  
  
Inu-yasha came up behind Hojo.  
  
"What about me?" he grunted harshly.  
  
Hojo spun around, frightened out of his wits. This guy was scary! His violet eyes flashed with.. Well, it was kind of like anger, worry, and attitude, all in one. And it was damn scary.  
  
"She.. Well, Higurashi-san said to give this to you. I really don't know why. Do you know her?" Hojo asked, offering him the note Kagome had just written. Inu-yasha snatched the note.  
  
"Of course not. How would I know that crazy bitch?"  
  
Hojo was startled by this reaction, but decided that was his cue to leave anyways, so he let Inu-yasha be. Which was just what Inu-yasha had hoped he'd do. Inu-yasha quickly tore open the note and read it through. He was astonished by what he found inside, and stood rooted to the spot as he read the note through twice more. Then, common sense came upon him, and he chased after her to the best of his ability. Behind him, about to be trampled on the sidewalk, was a note that read:  
  
Dear Inu-yasha,  
I can't go on like this anymore. I've cried for so long, been lost  
without you for so long.. I just can't handle it anymore. Especially  
now that you're here and you don't remember me. All of you have  
forgotten me: you, Sango, Miroku.. all except Shippo, but there's  
nothing he can do to stop me either - I'm keeping my promise to him  
and making things better. I knew we'd meet again, but I thought you  
would remember, or I'd have forgotten. I can't fall in love again - my  
heart's still dust in the clearing where you chose Kikyo. Do you  
remember that much? I know you remember Kikyo. Do you remember  
choosing her instead of me? Do you remember that night? I guess not,  
because you don't remember me.  
I'm leaving now, after I watch the beauty of the setting sun one last  
time. But be sure, in the next life, we'll find each other again. Our  
souls will be together for eternity, as they have been in the eternity  
of the past. Eventually, Fate will find itself, Destiny will right  
itself, and Love will have its way. Remember that always, and be  
looking for me next time around. Our souls will meet again, and  
neither will remember - they'll fall in love of their own accord.  
Until that day.  
Farewell.  
~Kagome  
  
He'd be damned if a girl killed herself because of him, even if she was crazy. It wasn't really that he cared about her at all, he just couldn't live with the guilt of that. However, it was hard, trying to figure out where she'd gone. And his mind was clouded with something in the note that had struck something in his memory, but he couldn't figure out why: Our souls will be together for eternity, as they have been in the eternity of the past. Eventually, Fate will find itself, Destiny will right itself, and Love will have its way. Why did that seem so familiar? And what was she talking about with Kikyo? This girl knew more about Kikyo than he did! Why did the babblings of a lunatic have so much to do with him? He had to talk to her.  
  
(I was gonna end it here, but then I decided to be nice, so enjoy a longer  
chapter, o faithful readers!)  
  
The sun was going to set soon - he was running out of time. 'Where would she go to watch the sunset and kill herself? Assuming she's doing it at the same place.. Well, it would be fastest, and she doesn't seem to want to prolong it.. A tall building! She can watch the sun, then jump. I bet that's it! It must be nearby!' Inu-yasha looked around. The tallest thing with roof access around was a parking structure. It was enormous, many many stories high. And it probably had an excellent view of the sunset!  
  
Inu-yasha raced toward the structure. Once inside, he found that the elevator was broken. Cursing colorfully, he raced up the stairs, cursing that he was wasting time, and she might not even be here! Finally, panting, he reached the top. He was relieved to find her up there, watching as the sun set. She stood on the western side of the square rooftop, so her back was to him. He was a bit in awe at first, and could only gaze at her back. Her hair was blowing lightly in the breeze, tinted with the deep orange of the most gorgeous sunset he had ever seen. He could here the cars whizzing by down below, a distant reminder that the sunset wasn't the only reason they were up there.  
  
Inu-yasha walked up silently behind her. He didn't want to scare her into doing something stupid, like jumping before he could reach her. Now came the hard part - he had to make contact. Without scaring her. She had no idea he was behind her. He stood, ready to grab her, just in case.  
  
"Hey. what're you doing up here?" She didn't turn, she didn't jump. Hell, she didn't even flinch!  
  
Now that the danger was past, he could have hit himself. What a stupid  
question!  
  
"I'm watching the sunset," she replied, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
"That's not all you're doing."  
  
"Then why did you ask? It's not like this concerns you. Not anymore."  
  
Inu-yasha was stunned. She still hadn't moved, save her mouth to speak  
to him. It was unnerving, because she obviously knew who he was.  
  
"I'd say it does. You wrote me a note saying you loved me, along with  
a lot of other bullshit. If nothing else, I want an explanation for  
that."  
  
"I see Hojo found you pretty quickly. Or were you trailing me? That'd be just like you, wouldn't it? You probably threatened him too. At least you haven't changed."  
  
Inu-yasha chose to ignore that, although it did make him mad.  
  
"Look, bitch, I don't care what you say. How do you know about Kikyo?"  
  
Kagome finally flinched, then turned her head a little, so she could see him standing behind her.  
  
"Damn you. how can you remember her and not remember me? Was she always that much better than me? Would you choose her, even still?"  
  
"What the hell?! I'm not choosing anyone! I just want to know how you know about the girl from my dreams."  
  
"You dream about her? Maybe I'm not her reincarnation after all. maybe it was a huge mix-up. Maybe Kikyo's running around somewhere in this world. But that doesn't add up. I guess I'm just not meant to have you." A single tear ran down her cheek. "Dammit! Shippo remembers me, so why don't you?"  
  
Inu-yasha looked at her like she was crazy. "This Shippo guy is probably just someone you made up anyways. An imaginary friend. I'm not falling for any of this-"  
  
"Bitch." Kagome interrupted. "Yes, I know you're not."  
  
Inu-yasha looked at her in surprise. She really did seem to know him.  
  
She looked down at the rosary in her hands. "That's right.. You died, didn't you? That's why you don't remember. And Kikyo, your soul mate, lives in your dreams."  
  
"What's with this 'soul mate' crap? I don't even know this 'Kikyo' - I just know that she's in my dreams, and that she makes it hard to sleep, so it can't be a good dream."  
  
"Whatever. You can't change my mind."  
  
"Who said I was going to?"  
  
"I know you better than you give me credit for. I traveled with you for a couple years, fell in love with you, then gave you to. to." Her eyes clenched shut, and she turned away. Inu-yasha was starting to believe her, but masked it.  
  
"Kikyo? Look, I never traveled with you, and I'm not a ghost, so quit giving me a past I never had. You don't know me."  
  
"Yes I do. Go away now. The sun's almost set, and I want to enjoy these last moments. If you shut up, I can enjoy your presence, and pretend nothing went wrong."  
  
She was going to go through with it still. He had to do something fast, that wouldn't hurt his pride. She'd probably chicken out anyways, he told himself, though he didn't honestly believe it.  
  
"Oh please. Even if I did travel with you before, I think I'd have rather of traveled with Kikyo. She looks so much prettier than you, I can only see her angry face in my dreams!" Judging by how her back went rigid, he'd hit a sore spot. This would either make things better, or drive her over the edge. "I mean, she doesn't seem like she'd give up on life, either. She seems like she just go and kill someone if they made her mad."  
  
"You hit the nail on the head - she killed you."  
  
"Sure she did. Well, at least she did something," Inu-yasha continued, hoping to get her mad enough to turn around so he could snatch her off the ledge. He couldn't do it now, or they'd both go toppling down. "I mean, you supposedly gave me up to her, and now you're giving up your life. You just love to give up, don't you?" he said harshly.  
  
Suddenly she spun around. He moved forward to grab her, when he found her taking the two steps towards him instead, her eyes filled with angry tears.  
  
"Here, you jerk!" she yelled, tearing the strange necklace (A/N Shikon no tama) from her neck and forcing it into his hands. "Guard that with your life, if you have any common sense at all. Or wish for Kikyo to come back, since she was perfect."  
  
He held tight to the bead of the necklace. Yet she suddenly started to head back towards the ledge.  
  
"Hey! Wait a minute! Don't you dare -"  
  
Kagome spun around again.  
  
"Butt out, jerk!" she glanced down at the rosary in her hand, then muttered bitterly, "With any luck, this still works."  
  
Inu-yasha was at a loss for words as he had a necklace of wooden beads and teeth slammed onto his neck.  
  
"What the-" Then he started cracking up. "What the heck is this, some kind of collar? Is this the best you can do to shut me up?" Then he cracked up laughing again.  
  
"Osuwari!!!!!!"  
  
With that single word, he slammed into the concrete. Luckily, he managed to keep his head up just enough to keep from shattering his face, although it took incredible strength from his neck.  
  
His body ached from slamming into the concrete, but he heard Kagome take those steps toward the edge. He heard her stop. Maybe she'd lost her nerve! Maybe he's held her off long enough! He finally managed to get his head up as the spell began to wear off.  
  
He was met with a similar vision to the one he'd had at school. Kagome was at the center of it, and it was the same Kagome he was trying to save. However, the scenery kept changing between the city and a forest scene as the vision fought with his senses. Kagome seemed to be glowing, as was the jewel that was still clutched in his hand. Then, she said the words that rang in his memory as though they had been long clouded, and he had just finally remembered, because they matched his vision perfectly.  
  
"Farewell, Inu-yasha.. Until our souls meet again."  
  
Suddenly, Inu-yasha's whole outlook changed without him giving it a thought. His only thought was the danger his Kagome was in, and the fact that he was still pinned to the damn roof, while Kagome got back up on the ledge.  
  
"Kagome, wait!"  
  
But he was too late. She jumped. 


	13. Love Will Have Its Way

Can you believe this? The last chapter! Well, except for the epilogue, of course. But that doesn't matter! I made it! It took me nearly a year, but I did it! Be joyful, one and all!  
  
Disclaimer: *sticks out tongue* I'll give you three guesses.  
  
A/N: What can I say? I love this fic! But once I'm done, I have 4 other fic ideas, and two other fics to finish, not to mention that everyone likes my depressing one shots!  
  
And without any more babbling. I give you:  
  
Love Will Have Its Way  
Chapter 13  
  
"Farewell, Inu-yasha.. Until our souls meet again."  
  
Suddenly, Inu-yasha's whole outlook changed without him giving it a thought. His only thought was the danger his Kagome was in, and the fact that he was still pinned to the damn roof while she got back up on the ledge.  
  
"Kagome, wait!"  
  
But he was too late. She jumped.  
  
If he had taken the time to look, it was actually one of the most beautiful and tragic sights that he would have ever seen. She had jumped straight into the sun, so the blood red clouds played around her shadowy form, and the last rays of sunlight seemed to emanate from her body and not the shimmering dome hidden behind her. She jumped as if she was trying to fly, straight out from the roof, with her arms out like wings in the golden light as the wind pushed her hair out of her face and back behind her.  
  
All this was lost on Inu-yasha, who could only see the reality of the situation - she was falling. Time seemed to slow down, or maybe he just sped up, but whichever it was, it didn't matter. However, if he had (once again) taken the time to notice, he would have realized that it was he who was moving at a super-human pace. Of course, that didn't matter right now - he had to stop her.  
  
He leapt off the ledge just far enough to grab the nearest part of her - her ankle - before she fell any further. He then grabbed hold of the ledge with his free arm, bring both of their falls to an abrupt halt. For Kagome, it was too abrupt, and she swung down with an incredible force. She threw her hands out to keep from slamming fully into the concrete of the parking structure, but upon impact, she heard a sickening crunch, and her arms throbbed with pain. Tears sprang to her eyes as the blood rushed to her head as she dangled by her ankle, several stories above the sidewalk. However, she was only there for a moment, for Inu-yasha somehow managed to swing her up with one arm. For a moment, she was falling again, but he caught her in that one arm and held her close to his body as they dangled there, helplessly; there was no way he could pull them both up by one arm. However, she noticed one thing.  
  
"You. Your hanyou again!"  
  
"I figured that much out." he grumbled as he strained to keep from letting go.  
  
Kagome suddenly clung to him as best she could without hurting her already injured self, flinging her arms wholly around his neck and crying for all she was worth.  
  
"What the hell? Why are you crying? I know this looks bad, but someone will see us and come help! And besides, I remember everything! I'm back!" he said gruffly, trying to stop the tears. "You're supposed to be happy, dammit!"  
  
"I am." she whispered, as a few of her tears fell to the city below.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sango sat unhappily with her 'savior' from earlier, Shizu, and all of Shizu's friends. They had introduced her to the food court that was a prime teen hang out, and she swore she would rather have been at the nut house with that crazy girl than sitting here, watching Rika bat her eyelashes at Miroku. Who was, of course, giving her suggestive looks right back. If she watched this much longer, she was going to be sick! She slurped on her soda noisily in an attempt to distract her new 'friend' from Miroku.  
  
'Why do I care anyways? If that stupid Miroku wants to have every girl in every school, then that's his problem.' And besides, the girls seemed to like being groped and such, but Sango did not. *sigh* Then why did she get so jealous when he flirted with other girls? 'Because he doesn't look at you the same way.'  
  
This was true. In all her run-ins with Miroku at their old school, although he had groped her occasionally and said things, the look in his eyes was different - like she reminded him of someone else. Of course, he seemed very familiar to her too - like they'd known each other before. Maybe they'd spent time together as children. probably not. Miroku came from a rich, powerful family, and Sango, well. didn't. She loved her family, but sometimes the money ran thin.  
  
Sango was jerked from her thoughts by a loud, twittery giggle from Rika. She had apparently missed something big, because soon the other girls were giggling to, and Miroku was wearing a big (rather perverted) grin on the other side of the large room.  
  
'Damn, this is going to be a looonnnng day.'  
  
As soon as the thought entered her head, she felt something - something strange. It felt like a pulse, right on her spine. Then another, stronger, that sent shivers up her spine. Then an even stronger one, that she actually heard in her head, and caused her spine to tingle so much that she sat straight up, nearly spilling soda on herself, and could not relax from the awkward upright position. Her breaths came in short gasps, and she started shivering. Everyone near her was staring at her odd behavior, but her eyes were locked on one other's: Miroku's. Unnoticed by his new friends, who were staring at Sango, he too had gone rigid, and was staring in fear at Sango. He too had felt the pulses, and knew that something strange was happening.  
  
Suddenly, one giant pulse came, and the tingle on their spines seemed to explode like fireworks, exploding outwards all over their bodies, and they shuddered at the strange sensations. Then, Sango slumped slightly, panting. Her friends were asking her if she was ok, and someone was yelling to call for an ambulance. Sango looked up and met Miroku's eyes again, then averted her gaze, telling her friends she had to go, and ran off. Miroku made a similar excuse and followed her at a run. As soon as they left, the area filled with the murmuring of the confused and shocked people.  
  
Sango just ran and ran. What was happening to her?!? Strange images were filling her mind, absorbing the person she was, and feeding her memories of someone else - someone from long ago. Another flash of images, and realization hit: her past life. Images passed through her mind of horrifying demons, of her body covered in scars and terrible wounds, of a little boy killing everyone she held dear, and dying himself. Kohaku. of her friends, of Kagome and Shippo and Inu-yasha and. and Miroku!  
  
With that final image of Miroku's smiling face, she stopped running out of shock, for her full memory and person had returned to her. She turned around, and saw him running up to her. Saw him calling to her. Saw him registering the same remembrance of their past. Suddenly, she was in his arms, crying for all she was worth while nearly squeezing the life out of him in a monstrous embrace. He swirled her round, unable to find words to express his joy at seeing her again. Yes, again, for he had not seen her in this consciousness for hundreds of years.  
  
"I can't believe this!" he cried. "Sango! My Sango! I remember you! Oh, I remember."  
  
Sango just cried in joy as she jugged him closer still.  
  
Suddenly, Miroku pulled away, holding her at arm's length so he could look her in the face. His face, however, wore a question.  
  
"Why. How do we suddenly remember? We're not supposed to remember.. So how..?"  
  
With the tiniest of splashes, something wet landed on Miroku's arm. Then another landed on Sango's shoulder, then again on her head. Miroku looked past Sango's shoulder at the obviously blue sky.  
  
"And another, milder mystery - where is this water coming from?" he looked straight up. "Kami! It's them! Hurry!"  
  
Miroku ran into the building they were in front of, which happened to be a parking structure, and tore up the stairs. Sango looked up and saw them too - two people, hanging from the roof by a single arm. There wasn't a doubt in her mind as to who they were, and she followed Miroku's desperate dash up the stairs.  
  
Moments later, Inu-yasha and Kagome were leaning against the slight wall on the roof, both trying to relax their shaking, stressed-to-the-max bodies. Miroku was staring at them both in shock. Sango was using her cell phone ("Oh the joys of modern technology!") to call an ambulance, because both of Kagome's arms were swelling and bruising in an ugly black and blue pattern, and the right arm was obviously broken, judging by the limp way that it hung and the fact that she couldn't move it. None of them had a car, so they had no way to get her to the hospital. Everyone had tears in their eyes. Even Inu-yasha.  
  
Miroku put a hand on Kagome's shoulder, as touching her arms was out of the question, and tried to comfort and offer apologies at the same time.  
  
"Kagome. How can I even ask for your forgiveness? I should have worked harder to rise above the modern consciousness during the drama class! But everything will be alright now. But what on earth happened? And why do we all. remember?"  
  
Inu-yasha, still in shock, managed to raise his hand, showing Miroku the Shikon no tama (still glowing) that he held. But even as they watched, it seemed to be fading into it's own light. Everyone stared, even Sango, who was in the middle of her call, as the small orb gave one long, bright flash of white light, then disappeared. Kagome shivered.  
  
"It's pure. it's gone for good." she whispered.  
  
Miroku looked down at his scarred hand, then up at Kagome. "Then. is this 'happily ever after'?"  
  
"Yeah." Inu-yasha said, putting an arm around Kagome. "I guess so."  
  
But Kagome struggled away, crying out in pain as she did so. Inu- yasha, fearing he'd hurt her, moved away quickly, looking at her with concern showing in his amber eyes.  
  
"Sit!"  
  
WHAM  
  
"What the hell?!? What was that for, bitch! I just saved your goddamned life and purified the damn jewel, and you sit me?!?"  
  
"How could you?" she hissed.  
  
Her words hung in the air, which had grown strangely silent. Sango had been watching for the ambulance from the edge of the roof, her phone call over, but now she looked over at the two. The only thing breaking the silence was the ever-present whiz of cars below.  
  
"Kagome-sama.?" Miroku asked cautiously, reverting back to his old habits under the tension in the air.  
  
"How could you?" she repeated, glaring at them all in turn, although focusing mainly on Inu-yasha, as hot tears poured from her eyes. "Do you have any idea what HELLS you've put me through? First, I gave up everything to help you, to get the jewel, to save the world, and all that other crap. I lost friends, my family became distant, I was so behind in school, and everyone thought I was so sick and contagious that they wouldn't come near me! Then, I left and let you have Kikyo, even though it meant that I lost my remaining friends and my practically adopted son, just to come home and cry for years! Now, you all come back, push me to suicide, insult me, tell me that you still have dreams about Kikyo, then stop me from even having peace in death! When you held me just now, I thought I'd died! I thought I'd died and found you at last! And then, everyone suddenly remembers, and I'm just supposed to say 'welcome fucking back!'?!?"  
  
Everyone stared at the sobbing, outraged girl in shock. Suddenly, it donned on them that she had lived for years before they came back in these new bodies - it wasn't just yesterday that the quest had been finished. Sango ran over and grabbed the girl into her arms.  
  
"Oh, kami-sama Kagome! I can't believe this! I'm so sorry!" she cried, rocking the girl back and forth. "We're all sorry that this happened."  
  
"Kagome." she looked up at Inu-yasha, who had the saddest look on his face that she had ever seen him wear, and his intense internal pain showed through his teary golden eyes. "Kagome. I chose Kikyo because you had another life you needed to live, in another time that I could never possibly understand. I let you go, so you could be happy. I never meant for it to hurt you so much. And my dream of Kikyo! It was the one memory that I had of my past, that nothing could ever make me forget, even that spell - the day she shot me. Your death isn't something you easily forget, nor is the loss of the only friend you ever had. Kagome, I didn't mean to hurt you. not ever."  
  
Kagome burst into fresh sobs, and Sango returned to rocking her small body back and forth, mindful of her shattered arms. The roof fell silent but for Kagome's sobs, and remained so until the sirens of the ambulance arrived below. Miroku suddenly yelled at Inu-yasha to cover his ears (the hanyou ones), and Sango dug into her bag for the bandana that she use for a hanky ("I only used it once! I swear, it's nearly clean!"). Inu-yasha had it tied on his head just in time. The paramedics came running up, but slowed seeing that no one was seriously injured.  
  
Unfortunately, these happened to be the same paramedics that had been searching for Kagome until just recently.  
  
"You!" cried one of the men, who looked very tired, like one who had done a great deal of running.  
  
Kagome just looked at him. He took on a more guarded stance, and moved slowly towards them, whispering to his partner to radio for some police reinforcements.  
  
"I heard that!" griped the hanyou, whose ears (even when smushed, poor puppy!) had caught the words. The paramedic gave him a funny look while his partner ran back down the stairs. Everyone stood or sat in tense silence, the two groups staring at each other. Then, Kagome closed her eyes and shivered. Sango didn't stop staring at the man, but hovered over Kagome like a protective mother.  
  
"Please. can I get some pain killers or something?" Kagome said quietly, breaking the tense silence. "My arms hurt. they hurt a lot."  
  
The paramedic took that as his cue that she wasn't going to bolt or try and cause him harm, though he watched her companions (especially that silver haired boy.) warily.  
  
"I know I made quite a scene earlier," she continued, "and I probably caused you a lot of trouble. I'm very sorry, but I'm okay now. I'm not crazy like I thought I was. Everything's ok again - everybody's back, and it's going to be ok now. I just need to get my arms taken care of. Please."  
  
Finally, the paramedic led them down to the ambulance and began to treat her arms and the minor scrapes and such that she and Inu-yasha had collected. However, he demanded that she come to the hospital, and radioed that someone should call the counselor, Takuya.  
  
A few hours, x-rays, drugs, and bandages later, Kagome sat in a small hospital room, waiting for the doctor to come give her some last instructions. Or so she had been told. Her friends sat in the room with her, refusing to leave her side during any of it. Especially Inu-yasha, who had been hovering nearby since she had indirectly forgiven him. He would watch Kagome like a hawk, always holding her hand and growling if they made Kagome's arms hurt too much. Kagome was very glad. It would be ok now, even though she needed explanations. Inu-yasha was here, and he would take care of her.  
  
Now that the doctors had left, and it was just the four of them, he sat next to her with a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him, and she just leaned in and accepted the comfort. He was truly hers now, and really, always had been. It was so much for her tired mind to take in that she just lay there, and let the world pass over her.  
  
As a matter of fact, Kagome was only aware of a few things. First, her whole body seemed to ache, despite the painkillers. Second, it was nearly midnight, and she had never been more exhausted in her life. As an amendment to this second awareness, she was also aware that she wouldn't be able to sleep, due to the information overload she had gotten. Thirdly, she was aware that Inu-yasha was holding her in a protective yet comforting arm while talking to Sango and Miroku about everything that had happened. She heard Shippo's name several times, for they had been very interested in hearing about him. After all, they hadn't seen him since he was practically a preteen.  
  
And so, aware of those three things, Kagome lay awake but resting against Inu-yasha's shoulder. But even those things were starting to get hazy, as the rumble that Inu-yasha's chest made in her ear every time he spoke was lulling her towards sleep. However, the rest of them were aware of something else - a man, who had just come into the room. Kagome lay still, and didn't notice him at all. Not until the voices floating overhead mentioned her name.  
  
"I see you three found Kagome," said the man's voice, which she now recognized as Takuya's. "And unless I'm much mistaken, you're all the transfer students, are you not? Can I get your names, please?"  
  
Kagome looked up at the man as her friends answered. His eyes bugged wider with each name, and a sudden recognition seemed to hit when Inu-yasha introduced himself.  
  
"Ah, I see. I like your new hair color, Inu-yasha. I assume you got that done this afternoon?"  
  
Inu-yasha used his fall back reply of "feh!" as her remembered the earlier encounter (had that been just that morning?), when he had been a human.  
  
"Mmm, I see," Takuya said with a practically transparent smile, for it was easy to see his fear. "Could I have a word with the three of you in the hall?"  
  
Sango and Miroku looked wary, but proceeded out the door. Inu-yasha, however, refused to budge.  
  
"Inu-yasha, I would just like a word with you regarding your, er, current situation."  
  
"Kagome needs me here right now. She's scared, tired, cold, and she's hurting inside and out. I won't leave her alone right now. Are you a fool? You're supposed to be smart when it comes to people."  
  
Kagome closed her eyes and smiled the tiniest of smiles, which didn't go unnoticed by Takuya, as she snuggled a little closer to Inu-yasha.  
  
"I'm very sorry. You're right!" he said in a very unconvinced and nervous voice. "I'll just go speak with those two."  
  
A few moments later, Sango and Miroku returned, both wearing looks of worry and confusion on their faces. Inu-yasha raised his eyebrow in question, and Sango answered.  
  
"He thinks Kagome's insane, and that we're just playing along. He said that we should stop and just leave her alone, or we'd just hurt her more." Kagome tensed at this, but Inu-yasha stroked her hair comfortingly.  
  
"Well, that's a load of crap," he said in true Inu-yasha fashion.  
  
"I must agree." commented Miroku. "But then again, how do you say that she's right without being called crazy yourself? And how can we prove it? But I guess the most important thing now is to come up with a plan of action. He said he was coming back again tomorrow to discuss treatments, and that we should get in contact with her mother. I guess that explains why they put you in a room with a bed," he continued, turning to Kagome. "They plan on keeping you over night - the doctor came and told us while we were out there. He says it's just for extra observance, but."  
  
Kagome merely nodded, but Inu-yasha looked very upset. It was obvious they were keeping her here for safety reasons, having nothing to do with her injuries.  
  
"How can you all be so calm?!? They're going to try and put her away as a nutcase, and she's not! We have to protect her!" he yelled at them.  
  
Sango snapped.  
  
"Do you think we don't know this?!?" she hissed in barely contained anger. "We know she needs to be protected, and somehow we will protect her. We just don't have a plan yet. But we will get one, and we won't let her be locked away."  
  
Kagome, who had been leaning on Inu-yasha's shoulder, seemingly in her own world, spoke without moving from her position.  
  
"Thank you." A gentle whisper, addressed to no one and everyone at the same time. Thank you to them for caring. Thank you to Fate for returning them. Thank you for her sanity. Thank you for her Inu-yasha.  
  
Sango looked at the girl and gave her a tired smile while Miroku nodded as he leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. Inu-yasha, who had been tense from yelling, relaxed again and pulled her closer. Then he suddenly stood up, carrying Kagome with him, and moved from the end of the bed up to the pillows and made the bed move into a sitting position (gotta love the cool hospital beds).  
  
Then, he pulled Kagome up next to him so he, on his side, could watch over her as she lay on her back, cuddled up to him for warmth. Sango and Miroku were rather surprised at how Inu-yasha was acting almost. affectionate. Then, Sango remembered that they still needed to contact Kagome's mother and whipped out her cell phone. After Kagome recited her phone number, Sango stepped into the hall, accompanied by Miroku, who was on a quest for the cafeteria. It had been a long day, and he was hungry! Sango accompanied him in his search as she talked on the phone.  
  
When Mrs. Higurashi arrived half an hour later, she walked into the room to find four sleeping teens. The two that she didn't know (though she could guess that the girl was the 'Sango' that had called) were sitting on the floor. Sango had her head on the boy's shoulder, and a cup of cold- looking coffee in her hands. The male had his arm around her, and they both seemed very happy and wore faint smiles in their sleep.  
  
But Mrs. Higurashi was stunned to see who was lying on the bed with her daughter. It was Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha, who her daughter had wept for. Inu-yasha, who her daughter was called insane for. Inu-yasha, who had Kagome pulled close to him from behind, their bodies spooning together, with Kagome's heavily bandaged arms lying on the small space remaining on the bed. Mrs. Higurashi let out a cry of joy, but stifled it before any of the teens awoke. Then, she pulled up the chair next to her daughter's bed and fell asleep herself, with tears of joy in her eyes.  
  
The next morning, Kagome awoke in Inu-yasha's arms. She held still, fearing that he would wake and the warm embrace would break, but he was already awake and thinking the same thing. When he realized that she was awake, he hugged her closer. His acute hearing told him that they were the only ones in the room, and when he opened a single, golden eye, he saw a note written and put on the pillow just above their heads. He lifted his head and read that Sango and Miroku had taken Mrs. Higurashi for a cup of coffee and a long explanation, as well as to intercept Takuya and talk with him, saying they had a plan.  
  
Kagome sighed when she felt his head move. He was awake, which meant an end to the embrace. She went limp, and waited for it to come.  
  
But it didn't. He merely hugged her tighter.  
  
"Kagome. do you know how much I missed you?" He whispered in her ear. "You were gone, and there was no point in living."  
  
Kagome lowered her head a little.  
  
"What about Kikyo?"  
  
"She was gone the same night as you. But Kagome, if anything, she reminded me more of you, and the differences between you, than the other way around. She never smiled like you, never had that joy.. It would never have been the same. I wanted you, Kagome."  
  
"So you killed yourself? Inu-yasha, I left so you could be happy. not so you could kill yourself!"  
  
"But I didn't.. I wandered around a bit, but I was bored and I missed you. So then, I found this old witch with a ton of power. She cast a spell on me that would send me to where my love was, so we would be together forever."  
  
"But you didn't remember. and I almost killed myself because of it."  
  
"She told me there was that risk. That I would have to fight to remember. I was fighting, Kagome - fighting the past that this world gave me, fighting to make this mind and body remember. But the Shikon no tama gave me the last burst of power I needed to remember. As we were hanging there, I wished that our friends would come and help us, help you. I went to school with them, so the inner me - the one that was trying to get out - knew that they had been reborn, but didn't remember either. I wished they would come and remember. And they did."  
  
There was silence then, but Kagome's body was shaking, and Inu-yasha could smell the oncoming tears.  
  
"Kami-sama, Inu-yasha.." She turned her head so she could almost see him. "I love you," she whispered.  
  
"I love you too, Kagome-chan," he whispered back, kissing the back of her neck (since turning her over might hurt her).  
  
Kagome sighed in contentment and leaned her head back against Inu- yasha. Then, they drifted off to sleep, and were found in the same position, both smiling, an hour later when the triumphant friends and family returned.  
  
Kagome and Inu-yasha both had a dream. It was so similar to that last night in Sengoku Jidai, and the words were ringing in their minds. They were under the Goshinboku, and it was a gorgeous night. They were standing and facing each other, but this time, there was no Kikyo, and no one was fading. Kagome was crying tears of joy, and Inu-yasha was smiling and wiping her tears away. And all around them, those three lines were sounding.  
  
~Fate has found itself~  
~Destiny righted itself~  
~And Love has had its way~  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
There will be an epilogue! I still have a lot of explaining to do, I know! But I will! And look, I even wrote fluff! See that fluff?!? I'm not a very good fluff writer, sorry. but it's there!!!! And look how long this chapter is! I think it makes up for the long wait, don't you? Btw, sorry about that. lol. I wanted this chapter to be perfect! And I still don't think it is, but it's good enough!  
  
Until next time!  
  
~~Koneko-chan~~ 


	14. Epilogue

A/N: I'm baaaa-aaaack! And I bring an epilogue, too! Finally! I've finished! And it's the longest thing I ever wrote for this story. Probably for any of my stories. But I'm so proud that I'm back and finished and all!

Disclaimer: Um, I'm still in negotiations with the current owners… patent pending?

Dedication: This is for Ryguy. Dude, you're hella awesome. It was your review a while back, reminding me about this epilogue, that got me working on it. I know, that was a long time ago, but hey, I finished it! So anyways, thank you for remembering, and for inspiring me. –hugs–

So, without further ado…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**--Epilogue--**

Papers ruffled and frustrated mumbling could be heard coming from the office, but the secretary paid no heed. Just another difficult case, but Dr. Aso was more than capable. The shrill ring of the phone startled the poor girl from her thoughts, but she regained her composure and answered it before calling down the hall into the office.

"Dr. Aso, it's Takuya-san, about the Higurashi case!"

This was met with another frustrated groan. Inside the office, a woman of about thirty-five picked up the phone.

"Hello? Yes, Takuya-san, I'm sure of my decision. Please, hear me out! She was more sane than any of the others in the whole hospital! Within a week of just being there with other psychologically troubled teens, she nearly cured her two anorexic roommates. Those girls have made nearly full recoveries, and they still keep in touch! This girl has a great career ahead of her."

A moment's silence.

"Yes, I do realize that I discharged a girl with an identity crisis from the best psych ward in the country. You must have some faith in me, I'm not considered the best for no reason. Her only diagnosable problem was missing friends, who supposedly don't exist, but actually do and are willing to testify to it. There was no abnormal body chemical levels, no evidence of a drug record – nothing. She's just normal. Actually, she's more than normal, and I have the utmost respect for her abilities. But to the point, she swore to tell me the whole truth behind her story, if she could come back and meet with me in her home. Some of her friends will be present. I'm meeting with her tomorrow afternoon. Takuya-san, please, let me do my work. I will update you as soon as I know more, but until then, please wait until _I call you_."

There was a decisive click as she hung up on the still complaining man, accompanied by a frustrated exhalation. The angry woman reached for her little yellow stress-ball and gave it a few good squeezes.

"It's never the patients," she muttered to herself. "No, the patients are the easy part of the job…. It's everyone else!"

After a few deep breaths, she returned to preparing her papers for the next day.

o

o º

)); ;(( 

A gentle breeze ruffled the curtains in the open window, and azure eyes cracked open, only to squint shut against the light. With some mumbling under her breath, Kagome turned over to face away from the window. Once facing the other direction, she snuggled into the warmth of her blankets and tried to return to sleep. She had almost succeeded when another small burst of breeze came through the window and wafted across her face. It was then that she realized that her window had been closed the night before, as it had been for several weeks.

Suddenly feeling a little more awake, Kagome sat bolt upright. Had she been any other girl, she would have assumed that her mother had opened it, if she even gave it a second thought. But she knew what this probably meant.

Her suspicions were confirmed as her eyes met the unmistakable silver hair, drifting over a dark blue baggy shirt and some black cargo pants. His bandana sat beside him, and his silver ears flicked back towards her as she stirred. He was facing away from her, staring at the rest of the room. Just like when she used to do homework on her bed, and he'd sit and complain from the floor. Eerily the same, actually.

Despite what Kagome may have thought, Inu-yasha was acutely aware of everything in the room. He had known when she was starting to wake, and when she had realized he was in the room. When the taint of fear had entered her scent when she scrambled to find him. Oh, but her smell was still wonderful. He'd missed her so much while she was gone. Two weeks was a long time. School weeks, no less – how was a guy supposed to stay sane? Especially when said guy kept having flashbacks of a previous life. That just complicated everything… At least before, Kagome had been nearby. But once her arms had healed sufficiently, they'd taken her away. Before that, she hadn't been allowed to see them often.

Kagome stared at his back in complete silence for a moment. How could he do this? She'd only gotten back last night from two weeks in a mental hospital – because of what he'd done to her, no less – and here he was, sitting in her room at eight in the morning like he belonged there?

"Inu-yasha?" His ear flicked towards her, but he still didn't look.

"Yeah?"

"…Osuwari." Bam. Inu-yasha's eyebrow twitched.

"Kagome… it's eight in the damn morning…" he ground out.

"I'm aware of that, Inu-yasha," she replied with false charm and a yawn.

"Did you… have to do this so early?"

"What are you doing in my room so early?" she countered. He blushed, glaring at the floor.

"Protecting you, wench! You can't seem to look after yourself!" He retorted with a huff as he peeled himself off the floor..

"I don't need protecting, Inu-yasha…" Kagome groaned, stretching her sore arms. The bones had healed well, but her arms still had a long way to go.

Inu-yasha peeled himself up off the floor and looked pointedly at the ground in his all-too-familiar pout. "Miroku said you wanted us to be here today…"

"Yeah, but not till one. Does my mama know you're here?" Kagome didn't want to think about what her mother would say…

Inu-yasha stayed quiet. He didn't tell her, but Kagome's mother actually _did_ know that he was here. He'd arrived last night, not long after Kagome had gone to sleep. He'd thought, like Kagome, that he'd be in a lot of trouble being found there. But when Mrs. Higurashi entered, he didn't have the heart to leave her side. But surprisingly, Mrs. Higurashi had just smiled at him and put an extra blanket on her daughter. She offered him one to, but he refused.

But Kagome didn't know that. She sat on her bed, watching the silent hanyou in an uncomfortable quiet. They hadn't really talked since that morning in the hospital. Takuya, in his frantic worry, had done an excellent job of keeping her sealed off from the world. And then, of course, that mental hospital. As a result, she wasn't really healed yet – it wasn't resolved for her.

Maybe that's why she was angry. She wasn't she was ready for this yet. She wasn't ready to confront him, and now he was giving her no choice.

Then she sighed. It wasn't like she was surprised, either. She'd missed him too, even more so now that she knew he was back. Sitting in the mental ward had been one of the hardest things for her, just because she knew he was alive and she couldn't see him. Or any of her friends for that matter. But especially him… That's why she'd talked to her roommates so much. They'd actually been bent on ignoring her originally, out of shame and such. Kagome had been shocked by how ashamed of themselves they were in so many ways. For the first day she was there, she'd sat and talked _at_ them. Just random things – her family, her friends, asking questions. After a while, they started joining her in sharing stories. It was a great way to pass the hours. With a glance at her desk, Kagome thought about how she would have to write them today.

Inu-yasha, noticing her prolonged silence, stole a stealthy glance up at her face. When he saw she was completely zoned, he watched her. He watched her face harden with pain and loneliness, then a brief, sad smile. Finally, her eyes wandered to her desk.

What bothered him so was that she didn't seem happy. She was still suffering. Something was still making her hurt inside, after so much time. He wanted that to go away, for her to be happy again – for them all to be happy again. This reincarnation thing was more difficult than it seemed, and without Kagome as the binder, things had been rough for everyone lately.

Before Kagome's still-waking mind had time to process his motion, Inu-yasha was sitting on the bed behind her. He leaned back against the wall, and pulled her into his lap with his arms around her waist.

Kagome squirmed and started to protest, but felt the words die in her throat as his arms encircled her. It was too early to fight so much, and his body was so warm and comforting. He managed to radiate physical warmth all the time, and being surrounded by that warmth was the greatest solace she had ever known. Snuggling a little closer, she leaned her head back against his shoulder, allowing him to rest his chin on hers.

Another breeze blew in, and blew some of Inu-yasha's hair across her shoulders. With sleep-dulled actions, she took the coarse silver locks in her hands and began smoothing them. Then, with a tiny smile, she subtly began braiding it. Inu-yasha, dazed as he was by her scent and nearness, failed to notice her art. Finally he noticed.

"Oi, wench! What do you think you're doing?" he protested, grabbing his hair away and stuffing it huffily behind him.

Kagome couldn't help but giggle, and Inu-yasha felt himself relax some at the sound (and blush some, too). Both of them were suddenly transported back to old days. The feeling between them was like it had been, only far less strained. No Kikyo, no Shikon, no Naraku… just the two of them, together in this room, at ease with each other.

"Kagome?"

"Mm?"

"Are you okay now…?" he asked cautiously. She thought for a moment.

"I don't know…" she said softly. She removed one of his arms from her waist, placing his warm palm against her cheek. She held his arm for comfort, and leaned her head against his palm. Inu-yasha looked over at her in concern, but their faces were so close that he had to pull back to keep from running into her.

"…Kagome?"

"Inu-yasha… Will you be here for me? Can you promise me that you won't leave me?"

Inu-yasha blinked, then smirked at her.

"Baka. You think I would cross Time itself just to abandon you?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm not that stupid."

Kagome smiled.

"In that case… I think I'll be okay."

o

o º

)); ;(( 

For almost an hour they sat in silence, just enjoying each other's presence. They probably would have stayed that way all morning but for Mrs. Higurashi, who cheerfully bustled in to announce breakfast. Kagome shot out of Inu-yasha's lap in embarrassment, completely missing her mother's relieved expression. Mrs. Higurashi, who had been worried after hearing the distinctive _whump_ of a sit, walked out of the room with a much more genuine smile as she returned to the kitchen.

When one o'clock rolled around, a slightly frazzled Kagome found herself in her living room, awaiting the arrival of Dr. Aso. Miroku and Sango were sitting tensely on the Higurashi's couch, and Inu-yasha was sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby. Kagome stood gazing out the slightly opened window, lost in thought. A strained silence ruled over the group, interrupted only by the sound of dishes from the nearby kitchen, where Mrs. Higurashi was washing away her own nervousness.

Finally, Kagome broke the silence.

"Do you really think this will work, Miroku?" she asked, turning her gaze away from the window. The eyes of the other three teens followed her as she walked to the other side of the room. None of them noticed Dr. Aso approaching the front door.

As the psychologist approached, she heard a male voice drifting out through the window.

"…have always felt that honesty is the best policy, you know," the voice said loftily. This was followed by a snort and another male voice.

"I seem to remember otherwise."

Then a girl's voice, though not Kagome's. "Yes, Miroku, how did we end up staying in all the best houses then? I seem to remember a few 'ominous clouds' that were only ominous to the lord's best food and finest rooms…"

The doctor raised an eyebrow. Had they really tried to stage something so elaborate? Best to play gullible…

"Well, in matters of any importance," amended the first voice. "_Then _honesty is key."

Dr. Aso finally picked out Kagome, whose nervous giggles gave her away. Then her voice continued.

"You're right. It's just… what if the truth doesn't work? What if she thinks we're all crazy?"

"Well," said the same male voice, "the nut house can't be all bad, and at least we'd all be in the same boat. You know, that really ironic one, where we're all locked up even though none of us needs it?"

Dr. Aso plastered a smile on her face, then finally knocked on the door.

"Coming!" Kagome called almost immediately. She opened the door with a slight bow, then showed Dr. Aso into the living room, where voices and faces finally came together. The other girl and the black-haired boy both greeted her and introduced themselves. The silver-haired boy on the ground merely nodded at her and looked away. Kagome, who was standing behind him, kicked him lightly. He glared up at her, then turned to the Dr. Aso.

"Inu-yasha," he said gruffly.

Dr. Aso didn't fail to notice that the names everyone had given were from the story of Inu-yasha. She also didn't show that she noticed, merely nodding and acting like having all of these names in one place was nothing extraordinary as she took a seat. Takuya had warned her of this, so she watched Kagome's three companions closely. Kagome went to stand behind the sitting Inu-yasha. All four teens were on edge, but if the conversation she heard was anything to go by, it was because they feared that she wouldn't understand. Or that they were extremely poor actors. Almost without thinking, Dr. Aso smiled indulgently, and began.

"So, Kagome, you said that you would tell me the whole story. But first, can I ask you – or any of you – why it will take all of you today?"

The boy, Miroku, spoke first. "We're here because Kagome asked us to be. We're here to support her, of course." Sango nodded in agreement, and Inu-yasha continued to look away. Dr. Aso turned her attention back to Kagome.

"Is that why you asked them here?" Kagome bit her lip.

"Well, in part. But also because this story… well, it's not just my story to tell, I guess. It involved all of us very deeply, and I can't begin to be able to explain it all myself. I mean, the story itself is easy – I could basically read to you from the book. I've told you much of our story already over the past weeks. But to tell it right, to tell to prove the truth to you, requires all of us I think."

Dr. Aso hid her surprise. That was meant purely as a "lets-get-comfortable" question. No beating around the bush with this group.

"So what did you want to tell me, Kagome?"

"The truth," she said simply, meeting Dr. Aso's eyes. "On my fifteenth birthday, I went to fetch my cat from the well house. While I was there, a giant centipede demon pulled me through the well, into another world – the world where I met the people you see here. Just like I told you before. You are familiar with the legend, as I remember."

Dr. Aso nodded. She was familiar with it. Kagome had recounted many of their adventures in previous counseling sessions. So why the story was coming up again was beyond her.

"I am familiar with the story, and with all the characters," she said, and glanced around the room. "But I thought you were going to tell me the truth…" she trailed off with a puzzled tone.

Kagome sighed. "That's just the problem. I've been telling the truth the whole time. It's just that now I can prove it."

Inu-yasha, who had been watching the doctor, turned his head abruptly to avoid making eye contact with anyone. Dr. Aso took note of that.

"Is he to be your proof?" she asked, nodding towards the boy with dyed hair.

Kagome blinked in surprise. "Well, partially, yes. I was going to explain some other things first, but maybe… Actually, this may be for the best. He can at least prove to you the existence of demons, which is more than half the battle. Inu-yasha, would you please…?" she asked, turning to the boy. He looked up at her, gave a slightly pleading look, then pouted slightly and removed his bandana.

Dr. Aso blinked. Two very alive ears flicked out from under the material, twitching slightly as they adjusted to their freedom. The blood drained from her face. Any thoughts of strategies or questions or anything slipped from her mind as her eyes finally registered the amber shade of the boy's eyes and clawed fingers, which she had before assumed to be an elaborate fashion statement. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly as she tried to form coherent thoughts. Kagome was giving her a concerned and apprehensive look. All four teens were watching her closely. Dr. Aso was beginning to feel quite faint, and wondered if perhaps she was dreaming anyways…

Mrs. Higurashi arrived just in time bearing tea. Dr. Aso quickly burned her tongue in her rush, proving to herself her wakefulness. She barely heard Mrs. Higurashi speaking to her.

"Now, I do realize it can be a lot to take in, but you can trust everyone here. Kagome has always been very honest, and from what I've been told of her friends, they are all very respectable people." She smiled. "So relax, Doctor, and listen. It's not as bad as it sounds. And you must admit, his ears are darling – you should feel them, they're soft as can be!" she said, with a slightly suppressed smile in Inu-yasha's direction. The boy blushed and stared determinedly at the floor.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled brightly, then turned back to the panicked professional. "Anyways, my point is that it's true, and it's not as crazy as it seems."

"Dr. Aso, are you okay?" Kagome asked tentatively after her mother had excused herself back to the kitchen.

"I can hardly believe it…" she whispered, staring into her tea.

"You should," said Inu-yasha. "Kagome's a terrible liar."

Even in her dazed state, Dr. Aso noticed the change that came over the room.

"Hey! That's not true!" Kagome yelled at the boy. Her other two friends had to look elsewhere to avoid laughing, and both looked rather relieved to see the bickering. The silver-haired boy just smirked.

"Of course it is. You couldn't tell a lie to save your life! You look all over the place, and your face gets pink, and your heart speeds up. You're so obvious!"

Miroku snorted. "And you're not, Inu-yasha?"

"Keh! Of course not," he said, crossing his arms in front of him and looking affronted. Sango rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, the scene was interrupted by a popping sound. Kagome looked surprised, then a look of understanding and delight entered her eyes.

"Oh, you guys, I've wanted to show you this! It's the kitsune-message from Shippo that I've told you about!"

When all eyes were on her, Kagome put her hand by the side of her face and snapped her fingers. When she opened her hand again, a small red-and-white mushroom had appeared. Dr. Aso's eyes widened again. Kagome smiled, showing them the silly face that had been drawn somewhat crudely on the mushroom with a marker. Then she popped the top off of it, revealing a small black hole in the base. She turned it over and shook, and a rolled up piece of paper came out. A few other noises were coming from the small fungi as well, like other things were too large to escape, even though such a theory clearly violated a few laws of physics. Kagome stuck a finger into the hole and pulled at it. The mushroom merely pulled wider, and Kagome was able to reach in her entire hand, then dump out a few more mushrooms, about ten candy bars, and a photo of Shippo and Kirara smiling and waving in front of a waterfall somewhere in America.

Dr. Aso's grip on her tea was so strong that she feared she would break the cup. Kagome remained oblivious.

"Isn't that neat? I didn't get the chance to tell him that I'm home yet, that's why he sent the candy bars," she said, with a nervous glance at Dr. Aso. "Hospital food is never great, after all, and there was no sugar in the whole building…"

"Kagome? Do you mind if I show myself into the kitchen… I could really use some more tea, I think…" came Dr. Aso's slightly petrified voice. Kagome nodded and watched her leave, then turned back to her friends to show them how even then letter had to be opened a special way.

Mrs. Higurashi did not seem at all surprised to see the frazzled woman entering her kitchen. She quickly changed her course to provide the woman with more tea.

Dr. Aso sat in silence for a long time while Mrs. Higurashi bustled around the room. Finally, there seemed nothing left to clean or put away, and Mrs. Higurashi poured herself some tea and sat down with the other woman.

"How…" began Dr. Aso. "How did you get to be so calm about all of this?"

The older woman's face took on a pensive look. "I suppose that, in a way, I expected it. I mean, I grew up on this shrine. When you live with the Goshinkboku tree of legend, you hear the story. And it always was one of my absolute favorites when I was young. I loved the heroine of the story, the priestess of another world… I guess it turns out that I named Kagome after herself. Funny how things work out, isn't it?" she said, with a genuine smile. "I don't think she's figured it out yet. She never was a legend child – had no interest in anything on the shrine. She didn't know the legend her name came from, and didn't want to know. Oh, but it was hard to watch her…"

"But Kagome said she was just pulled through the well one day. Weren't you worried?"

"Of course I was. I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know she'd gone through the well, I only knew that my fifteen-year-old daughter was missing. Yes, I was very scared…"

"But even after that… most mothers wouldn't have let their daughter leave their sight again. You let her go running around in another world?" Dr. Aso asked in disbelief.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled a sadder smile. "I know, it sounds crazy, doesn't it? I'm still kind of surprised that I didn't take her to a doctor right away, with her talking about the feudal era and all. But she had the clothes of a miko on, she was shocked, and her story matched the one I remembered… It made sense. I mean, I was shocked and worried, but I guess I wasn't too surprised when that door slammed open and an angry hanyou came charging into my kitchen. In fact, I was actually quite taken with his ears…"

They heard a sulky huff come from the doorway, and looked over to see Inu-yasha standing there, glaring at the floor once again.

"Miroku wants you two to come back into the other room now."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "Thank you, Inu-yasha."

Once everyone had returned to the living room, Miroku took charge.

"So Dr. Aso, do you now believe the story that Kagome has been telling you?" She nodded.

"Yes, and I'm willing to declare her perfectly sane as well. I'll just call…" she stopped when Miroku made to interrupt her.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. We promised to get her professional help, so Takuya wouldn't take charge of her care. My family has been paying for her care thus far as an 'act of charity,' though you know now that is was all absolutely unnecessary, and that no further treatment is needed."

Dr. Aso finally managed to get a hold of herself. She took a deep breath, then nodded, leaning in to address the boy honestly.

"I agree – and I can still help you. Kagome and I can have "private sessions" a few times a week – as long as we both vanish for an hour or so, no one will be any wiser."

Miroku nodded. "Precisely what we planned to suggest. But for safety's sake, I'd like to suggest that you actually spend that time in the same place – in fact, I'd like to suggest my house. You may not be aware, but I am fortunate enough to come from an extremely wealthy family. We can make sure your time is enjoyable."

Eyebrows went up around the room in the silence following those words. Those who knew Miroku well eyed him warily. Sango finally broke the awkward moment by bringing her elbow down on his head.

"Ow! What was… Oh! Pardon, not what I meant! Really, truly, Sango, I meant nothing like that!" He turned to the skeptical doctor. "I merely meant that you might enjoy swimming in our pool, or playing games, or something of that nature. And of course, we can pay you for your time."

"That won't be necessary. Consider it my apology for being so wrong before. In three months, I can pronounce her cured."

The whole group looked surprised.

"So soon?" Kagome asked.

"Well, if you're willing to pretend to take medicine at school, then yes." Her eyes took on a mischievous look. "We can fool that counselor easily enough. I'll prescribe something, like an anti-depressant, and you'll be required to take it at school. Just pretend to take it, and slip it in that little mushroom of yours, and you can even reuse the same prescription without needing to pick up new medicine. Well, depending on the consistency of the pills, anyways… But that's beside the point."

The whole room sat in shocked silence. Never before had they seen a professional so into faking her own profession. Then Kagome giggled.

"Well, this will certainly be fun. Takuya-san won't know what went wrong!"

The group visited for a while, Dr. Aso being thrilled to hear about this whole other world that she had thought only legendary. By the end of an hour, the whole group was all smiles.

But as Dr. Aso was about to leave, she turned to Inu-yasha with a serious expression.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I do have one final question." All four teens froze, and the atmosphere changed instantly. Inu-yasha prepared himself for an attack, or a personal question, or anything, except…

"Can I… can I touch your ears?"

After a group facefault, all the teens recovered themselves, and Inu-yasha gave a gruff nod at the hopeful woman. The whole room returned to smiles as his ears squeaked under her touch. The woman giggled, then excused herself from the group.

o

o º

)); ;(( 

As nice as the woman had been, Kagome sighed in relief as they watched her retreating form in the window. She walked over to where Inu-yasha was sulking against the wall and tucked herself into his arms. His pout faded as he rested his chin on her head – in fact, Miroku blinked in surprise.

"Inu-yasha… that is the closest thing to a real smile that I think I've ever seen on your face." Sango's eyes widened as she nodded in agreement.

The would-be smile turned into a fierce glare. The other two teens backed off slightly. Then Kagome, who had been resting with her eyes closed, lightly smacked Inu-yasha's chest. He looked down at the girl in his arms.

"Stop glaring at them, Inu-yasha. You're more comfortable when you're relaxed…"

He blinked at her in disbelief.

Miroku couldn't help a snort of amusement. Sango was looking dedicatedly elsewhere, her mouth a thin line holding back laughter.

"Perhaps the Lady Sango and I should excuse ourselves, then, if all business has been attended to…?"

Kagome took a deep breath, giving Inu-yasha one last squeeze before removing herself to stand up straight.

"Yes, I think that's all we needed to do. Thank you both for all of your help," she said, with a slight bow.

"Now don't get all formal with us," said Sango, embracing the smaller girl. Miroku came up, arms wide for a hug as well. Kagome looked at him suspiciously.

"Kagome, I'm shocked! What have I done to offend?"

"I just seem to associate close contact with you meaning your hand in close contact with parts of me that it shouldn't be…"

Miroku's face was the picture of scandalized hurt. His innocence was almost believable. Almost.

"Come now, Kagome. I've done nothing of the sort-"

"To her!" Sango interjected.

"-in this lifetime! Honestly!"

Kagome's face broke into a smile. She walked over to where Miroku and Sango were standing and gave the once-monk a hug, ignoring Inu-yasha's warning growls.

A moment of silence.

"HENTAI!" shrieked Sango.

Moments later, the room quieted as Sango and a heavily bruised Miroku took their leave. Inu-yasha snorted.

"I never thought that perv would get smarter. Hugging you, grabbing Sango's-"

"Kami-sama, I missed that guy."

Kagome turned around when Inu-yasha didn't respond, even to protest at her interruption. His ears were drooped slightly, and he looked dejected and sad – very much like a heartbroken puppy. She giggled a little, then stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. He blushed at the closeness, but didn't pull away.

"You think I didn't miss you more…?" she whispered. He could feel her breath on his face. He leaned in just a little more, his hair falling forward so that all they could see was each other. Then Kagome pulled forward, bringing her lips to meet his.

She had soft lips. Soft, perfect lips, that simply felt right against his in this slow, sweet kiss. Inu-yasha swore that he didn't care if he never breathed again, as long as he didn't interrupt this tender, precious moment… Inu-yasha moved to deepen the kiss, pulling Kagome closer to him, swearing to never, ever let her go.

"Souta! I need you to come help me set the table!"

The pair flew apart with inhuman speed as Kagome's mother came into the room to call upstairs to her son. Her face held no sign that she had seen the moment she had interrupted, but both teens watched her carefully. She smiled at them.

"You guys look like you've seen a ghost! Is everything alright?"

Voices eluding them, they both nodded. She smiled and returned to the kitchen.

Mrs. Higurashi knew very well that Souta wouldn't be home for another ten minutes – she just didn't want those two going too fast.

But Kagome was happy. Still healing, but still so happy. Mrs. Higurashi smiled at the dishes as she pulled them from the cabinet.

"Kami-sama, I missed that boy."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Holy shitake mushrooms. It's done. It's finally done. I started this story in February of 2003, and now it's finally done! Huzzah! And I've also been touching up the original chapters as well. You can't tell yet - I want to fix them all in one fell swoop - but I'll put a note in my profile when it's done. And I'll like officially kill the first chapter and repost it, so I can get the word out. I'm excited!

My thanks go out to anyone who has read this far – and even those who haven't! They'll just never know it…

…

I'll shut up while people still love me for finishing with a happy ending.

I hope to update other thing as well! Perhaps even Typos! Bye now!


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